TODAY'S HOT RECRUITING INFORMATION

Hot Recruiting Information available from previous months - June 1998 July 1998 August 1998 September 1998 October 1998 November 1998 December 1998 January 1999 February 1999 March 1999 April 1999 May 1999 June 1999 July 1999 August 1999 September 1999 October 1999 November 1999 December 1999 January 2000 February 2000 March 2000 April 2000 May 2000 June 2000 July 2000 August 2000 September 2000 October 2000 November 2000 December 2000 January 2001 February 2001 March 2001 April 2001 May 2001 June 2001 July 2001 August 2001 September 2001 October 2001 November 2001 December 2001 January 2002 February 2002 March 2002 April 2002 May 2002 June 2002 July 2002 August 2002 September 2002 October 2002 November 2002 December 2002 January 2003 February 2003 March 2003 April 2003 May 2003 June 2003 July 2003 August 2003 September 2003 October 2003 November 2003 December 2003 January 2004 February 2004 March 2004 April 2004 May 2004 June 2004 July 2004 August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005

Monday, October 31, 2005

Not only has the Philadelphia team won two out of the three games played in all three of the Eddie Griffin Challenges that have been held during the last two years, but they almost made it a clean sweep this year, as the Philly Team beat the New Jersey team 79-73 in the Sophomore Game and 92-91 in the Junior Game and led 48-32 at half-time in the Senior Game.  However, the Philly team failed to put New Jersey away early in the third quarter and, as a result, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who are two of the most intense hardnosed competitors in the nation, sparked an impressive comeback New Jersey comeback in the Senior Game.  The final score was 90-86 and Thomas, who finished with 16 points, nine rebounds, and two assists, was named the MVP for his team.  Harvey chipped in with points and eights assists and 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahway (H.S.) NJ had nine points, nine rebounds, two assists, and two blocks, 6'6 Kimmani Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ had 12 points and six rebounds, and 6'9 Casiem Drummond from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ had 13 points for the winners.  However, the player who improved the value of his stock the most for the New Jersey Team in the Senior Game was 6'7 DeSean Butler from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, who impressed us with his athleticism and versatility, as he showed a nice looking 3-point shot, the ability to rebound well for his size, and a willingness to compete when the game was on the line.  In other words, Butler is better than #159, which is where we currently have him ranked nationally in the senior class.  The best player for the Philly Team in the Senior Game was clearly 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, who finished with 24 points and took home MVP honors for his team.  And 6'2 Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA, who chipped in with 18 points and impressed us with his outside shooting, athleticism, and toughness, had us questioning our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin about whether he should be moved us to #5 in the area's senior class, behind 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, and 6'4 Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. Joseph's) PA and ahead of 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  Ellington finished with eight points, but never seemed to get on track and, as a result, unlike a year ago when he put on an incredible 3-point shooting performance, was one of the bigger disappointments of the day.  Pettis had nine points, 5'11 Malik Alvin from  Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA had eight points, 6'8 Dan Geriot had seven points, and 6'2 Derrick Rivera had six points in a losing cause.  Stepping up early in the Junior Game were 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, who scored seven of the first nine points, and 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Bonner Academy) PA, who had 11 points, including three straight 3-pointers, by the end of the 1st Quarter.  However, when it was all said and done, 6'9 Jr Rick Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA was the best player in the game.  We're talking about somebody who finished with 15 points, 16 rebounds, and four blocked shots compared to Jardine and Jones, who were both fairly quiet in the final three quarters, as they finished with 15 points and 16 points, respectively.  We also thought 6'8 Jr Markieff Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, who finished with 13 points and four rebounds, and 6'7 Jr Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, who finished with six points and four rebounds, and 6'2 Jr Josh Martin from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, who had eight points and five rebounds, all played well enough in this game to get mentioned.  Martin gets to the basket, shoots the three, and plays some at both guard spots, while the Morris brothers, who could be an absolute steal, if they right Big East or Atlantic-10 school gets them a year from now as a package, do most of their damage inside.  For the second straight year 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, who finished with 16 points and seven rebounds, was the MVP for the New Jersey Team.  However, our choice would have been 6'6 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, who impressed us with his willingness and ability to play both inside and outside, as he finished with 17 points and nine rebounds.  Also playing fairly well were 6'6 Jr Idris Hilliard from Princeton (The Hun School) NJ, who had 10 points and three rebounds, and 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (Eastside) NJ, who had nine points.  In contrast, 6'1 Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick's) NJ, who had 12 points and four assists, and 6'5 Jr Corey Stokes from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who had 10 points and 10 rebounds, were two of the more disappointing players of the day.  It was a very quiet 10 points and 10 rebounds for Stokes and Fisher forced a lot outside shots.  The best player for either team in the Sophomore Game was 6'8 Soph Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who had 20 points, 11 rebounds, and two blocks and made a number of great moves around the basket.  However, the difference in the Sophomore Game was the balance of the Philadelphia Team, which received good performances from 6'7 Soph Austin Johnson from Wyncote (Cheltenham) PA, 6'5 Soph Andrew Randall from Philadelphia (Communications Tech) PA, 6'8 Soph Devon White from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA, 6'5 Soph Jamal Wilson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, and 6'2 Soph Courtney Stanley from Norristown (Kennedy-Kendrick) PA. Stanley finished with 17 points and was named the MVP for his team.  Wilson finished with 11 points, nine rebounds, and three 3-pointers and was our favorite player on the Philly Team.  White had seven points and seven rebounds, but was the player in the game with the most potential.  Randall had 12 points and seven rebounds, but we question his position for the next level.  Johnson also had 12 points and seven rebounds and impressed with his athleticism, shot blocking ability, and ability to get things done around the basket.  Other players who need to mentioned for the New Jersey Team include 6'2 Soph Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, who finished with 17 points, 6'1 Soph Mike Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished with 19 points and a pair of 3-pointers, and 6'7 Soph John Edwards from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian) NJ, who finished with seven points and showed some nice moves to the basket.  The biggest disappointment was 5'11 Soph Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, who finished with only two points and forced some bad shots when his team was trying to make a comeback in the final minute of the game. 

Saturday, October 29, 2005, & Sunday, October 30, 2005

We told you last night that 6'3 Tre'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA would probably pick Memphis over UNLV.  Well, the press conference is scheduled for 7:30 PM tonight and sources close to Willis tell us that we can write it down for the Tigers.  And this is an important catch for Memphis head coach John Calipari and his staff for several reasons.  First, Willis is ranked #50 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the most prolific scoring 2-guards in the country.  Second, Willis should be the perfect complement to 6'5 Frosh Antonio Anderson, 6'5 Frosh Chris Douglas-Roberts, and 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, all of whom will be vying for immediate playing time in the backcourt when 6'4 Sr Jeremy Hunt graduates next spring and if 6'2 Darius Washington decides to forego the rest of his college eligibility and enters his name into the NBA Draft.  Third, Willis provides an excellent complement to 6'8 Pierre Niles from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, and 6'10 Hashim Bailey from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC in this recruiting class.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Willis and 6'4 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA both had originally planned to go as a package to Memphis.  But, when Kemp picked the Tigers a month ago, Jasper, instead, decided to verbally commit to the University of Kentucky.  In other words, it's funny how things turn out, because, if things had gone according to the original play, then Kemp, who had always been a Wildcats fans, probably would have picked Kentucky over Memphis.  We also have confirmed that 6'9 Kenny Lawson from Vista (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #262 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the fastest rising players on the West Coast, has verbally committed to Creighton and 6'5 Charles Anderson from Bakersfield (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #541 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo.  Some other verbal commitments that we've recently run across include 6'7 Angelo Garrett from Northern Oklahoma (JC) OK and 6'9 Igor Fishbeyn from Cabrillo (JC) CA both to Pacific, 6'2 Bobby Maze from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC to Delaware, 6'7 Daniel Buckley from Austin (Bowie) TX to Air Force, 6'10 Sean Kowal from St. Louis (DeSmet) MO to Colorado, 6'7 Alton Robinson from Pearl River (JC) MS to Colorado State, and 5'9 Marcus Crenshaw from Schoolcraft (JC) MI to Cal-State Fullerton.  A week ago our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin told  us that 6'2 Jamal Barney from Baltimore (Southwestern) MD had verbally committed to Rhode Island.  Well, this was incorrect.  Instead, Barney verbally committed to Providence and, as a result, the Friars now have three players - Barnery, 6'3 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY and 6'2 Corey Lowe from Newtonville (Newton North) MA - in the fold who are ranked in the 200-250 range in the senior class natioinally by the HOOP SCOOP.  We also have confirmed that Rhode Island has landed 6'1 Marquis Jones from Oakdale (St. Thomas More) CT and 5'11 Terrance Grier from Oakdale (St. Thomas) CT and they should complement one another perfectly.   Not only will they already have the experience of having already played together on the same team this year, but Jones, who originally is from South Plainfield, NJ and was ranked #308 nationally in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005, has excellent handling and passing skills and is more of a pure point guard, and Grier, who originally is from Cranford, NJ and was ranked #412 in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005, is a strong physical scoring combo guard.  However, the biggest story that we've run across this weekend involves 6'0 Doug Wiggins from East Hartford (H.S.) CT, who not only has reneged on St. John's, but is now verbally committed to the University of Connecticut.  Obviously this is not good news for the Red Storm, as Wiggins, who was ranked #43 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was the first big time player to have committed to the St. John's since Norm Roberts and his staff took over the program a-year-and-a-half ago.  Wiggins also was the point guard that they needed to replace 6'1 Jr Daryll Hill, who will likely forego his final year of college eligibility and enter his name into the NBA Draft this next spring, and he promised to be the guy who would make everybody else around him better.  But the Red Storm's loss also is Connecticut's gain and, when the Huskies' withdrew their scholarship offer last week from 6'2 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, this opened the door for them to take another guard.  And, we think the Huskies are a lot better off, because Smith was more of a 2-guard than a point guard and they already have that spot filled in this recruiting class with 6'3 Jerome Dyson from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH.  They also have 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'7 Ben Eaves from Wooster (Academy) MA, and 6'11 Jonathan Mandeldove from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA in the fold and, as a result, their recruiting class, which is now ranked #3 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, now has an excellent player at everybody position, as well as somebody from down the road to replace 6'9 Andrew Bynum, who bolted for the NBA Draft last spring.  Getting back to St. John's, it's our guess that they will attempt to solve their immediate needs by going the junior college route and, as the same time, they will continue to build the contacts necessary to get more than their fair share of the top young players in New York City.  We also suspect that St. John's may attempt to turn up the heat on 5'10 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, who told us that his list of schools currently includes Illinois, Florida, Mississippi State, Rutgers, USC, Connecticut, and Pittsburgh.  We also got an updated list of schools from 6'9 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and it included Arizona, Duke, Rutgers, Wake Forest, and Florida.  We're still guessing that Thomas will go to either Duke or Arizona, but don't be surprised if Rutgers is able to put together a package that includes both Harvey and Thomas.  And, if they pull this off, it would not only be the supreme coup fo teh Scarlet Knights, but we also will have to move Rutgers assistant coach Fred Hill back up #1 (currently we have him ranked #3) on our list of the top assistant coaches.

Friday, October 28, 2005

I am looking forward to attending both the annual Basketball Junkies Dinner on Saturday night and the Third Annual Eddie Griffin Challenge on Sunday afternoon this weekend in Philadelphia, PA.  The Basketball Junkies Dinner is now being held in the memory of Les Kaune, who was a good friend to the HOOP SCOOP before he died of cancer several years ago, and the proceeds from this event will go to Coaches versus Cancer.  The Eddie Griffin Challenge will be be held at Episcopal Academy in Merion Station, PA and will include three games that will feature the top players from the Philadelphia Area versus the top players from New Jersey.  The sophomore game, which will tip-off at 1:00 PM, will include 6'9 Soph Samardo Samuels from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'1 Soph Ashton Gibbs from West Orange (Seton Hall Prep) NJ, 6'1 Soph Travon Woodall from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, 6'1 Soph Mike Rosario from Jersey City (St. Anthony's) NJ, 6'8 Soph Jonathan Edwards from Cherry Hill (Living Faith Christian Academy) NJ, 6'7 Soph Eugene Teague from Richland (St. Augustine) NJ, 6'6 Soph Tyler Hines from Sicklerville (Timber Creek) NJ, 6'5 Soph Quintell Thomas from Newark (Science) NJ, 5'11 Soph Jordan Theodore from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, 5'9 Soph Dave Johnson from Lakewood (Prep) NJ on the New Jersey Team and 6'8 Soph Devon White from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'4 Soph Jamal Wilson from (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'5 Soph Miguel Bocachica from Philadelphia (George Washington) PA, 6'4 Soph Anthony King from Sharon Hill (Academy Park) PA, 6'4 Soph Brian Cohen from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, 6'8 Soph Chris Kurz from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'6 Soph Austin Johnson from Wyncote (Cheltenham) PA, 6'5 Soph Andrew Randall from Philadelphia (Communications Tech) PA, 6'5 Soph Kenny Moore from Philadelphia (University City) PA,  and 6'1 Soph Courtney Stanley from Norristown (Kennedy-Kendrick) PA on the Philadelphia Area Team.  The junior game, which will tip-off at 2:30 PM, will include 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Corey Stokes from Newark (Eastside) NJ, 6'2 Jr Corey Chandler from Newark (Eastside) NJ, 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'5 Jr Corey Raji from Township of Washington (Westwood) NJ, 6'2 Jr Terrell McKenzie from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'2 Jr Miles Beatty from Jersey City (St. Anthony) NJ, 6'3 Jr Chris Smith from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'7 Jr Idris Hilliard from Princeton (The Hun School) NJ, and 6'10 Jr Jabbari Edwards from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ on the New Jersey Team and 6'2 Jr Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Bonner Academy) PA, 6'9 Jr Lavoy Allen from Fairless Hills (Pennsbury) PA, 6'9 Jr Markieff Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'7 Jr Marcus Morris from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'0 Jr Sammy Zeglinski from Philadelphia (Penn Charter) PA, 6'6 Jr Chris Edwards from Philadelphia (North Catholic) PA, 6'2 Jr Kyle Griffin from Ft. Washington (Germantown Academy) PA, and 6'2 Jr Josh Martin from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA on the Philadelphia Area Team.  The senior game, which will tip-off at 4:00 PM will feature 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Reggie Reading from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'2 Darrin Govens from Chester (H.S.) PA, 6'2 Derrick Rivera from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 5'10 Malik Alvin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, 6'5 Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'8 Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, and 6'8 Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA on the Philadelphia Area Team and 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'11 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'9 Earl Clark from Rahwa (H.S.) NJ, 6'7 Dan Werner from Lincroft (Christian Brothers) NJ, 6'2 Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ, 6'10 Caisem Drummond from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'6 DaSean Butler from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ, 6'7 Yves Mekomgo-Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Kimmani Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, and 6'1 Keon Lawrence from (Newark (Weequahic) NJ on the New Jersey Team.  Our guess is that New Jersey teams will win the sophomore and junior games, but we give the nod to Philly in the senior game.  And, while I'm taking care of business in Philadelphia, PA, the HOOP SCOOP's Middle School Editor Patrick Stanwood will be in Charlotte, NC this weekend to cover the Elite 75 Prep Camp, which will be held on Saturday and Sunday at Cannon High School.  Some of the top players who are expected to be in attendance include 6'6 Frosh Derrick Favors from Atlanta, GA, 5'9 Frosh Manny Atkins from Atlanta, GA, 6'2 Frosh Devon Antley from Charlotte, NC, 6'2 Frosh Colby Lewis from Statesville, NC, 6'1 Frosh Aaron Bennett from Charlotte, NC, 6'5 Frosh Willis Hall from Mint Hill, NC, 5'11 Frosh Brian Strogier from Atlanta, GA, 6'6 8th Grader Jarrell Eddie from Charlotte, NC, 6'6 8th Grader Dakota Euton from Ashland, KY, 6'6 8th Grader Melvin Tabb from Raleigh, NC, 5'11 8th Grader Reynolds Maharajh from Weddington, NC, 6'3 8th Grader Isiah Goldwire from Charlotte, NC, 6'2 8th Grader Jordan Downing from Charlotte, NC, 5'11 8th Grader Eric Smith from Mullins, SC, 5'9 8th Grader Corey Hawkins from Charlotte, NC, 6'1 8th Grader Chad Jackson from Ashland, KY, 6'6 8th Grader Manny Dias from Charlotte, NC, 6'6 8th Grader Jordan Latham from Baltimore, MD, 5'5 8th Grader Corey Spence from Baltimore, MD, 6'7 8th Grader Tevin Jones from Raleigh, NC, 5'9 8th Grader Ridge Smith from Raleigh, NC, 5'9 8th Grader Jamar Simmons from Charlotte, NC, 5'5 7th Grader Tavon Sledge from Spring Valley, NY, 5'8 7th Grader Shaquille Stokes from New York, NY, 5'7 7th Grader Quantrell Williams from Charlotte, NC, 5'8 7th Grader Jacoby Davis from Charlotte, NC, 5'6 7th Grader Marquise (Jarrell) Rankin from Charlotte, NC, and 5'8 7th Grader Demyrio Cloud from Charlotte, NC.  For more information contact, tournament directors Jacoby Davis, Eric Short, and/or Ced Canty at contact@elite75prep.com or call (704) 293-3682.  Games will begin tomorrow at 9:45 AM.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'3 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY has picked Providence over Seton Hall and George Washington and this is just one more feather in the cap of Friars assistant coach Steve DeMeo, who ironically played for Naclerio on his first team at Bayside (Cardozo) NY in 1981 and has made a living coming back to the New York City area in recent years and getting more than his fair share of the top players - i.e. 6'2 Shieku Kabba from Bronx (Regional) NY, 6'2 Donnie McGrath from Katonah (John F. Kennedy Catholic) NY, 6'4 Weyinimi Efejuku from New York (Rice) NY and Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) MA, and 6'9 Randall Hanke, who also was born and raised in New York City prior to going to Pawling (Trinity-Pawling) NY.  We also have confirmed that UNLV has landed 6'5 Troy Cage from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA  And, this is important, because this probably rules out the Runnin' Rebels out from taking 6'5 Andre McFarland from Las Vegas (Durango) NV, who is ranked #113 nationally in the senior class and plays a similar position to Cage.  Cage, who has been described as a both "a smart player and a slasher," picked UNLV over Auburn, Miami-FL, and Rice.  This also is another indication that 6'3 Tre'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA will pick Memphis over UNLV at his scheduled press conference tomorrow.  As a matter of fact, we think you can write it down for the Tigers.  And, assuming that we're correct, the addition of Willis, who is ranked #50 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will move Memphis' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Pierre Niles from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, 6'1 Willie Kemp from Bolivar (Central) TN, and 6'10 Hashim Bailey from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC, up to #10 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.   It also appears that Miami-FL has landed 6'10 Fabio Nass from Arkansas-Fort Smith (JC) AR and this gives the Hurricanes the skilled big man that they were looking for, as their recruiting class moves into a tie at #35, along with Duquesne, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, Miami-FL already has 6'3 James Dews from West Chester (Lakota) OH and 6'7 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL in the fold.

Thursday, October 27, 2005

We told you yesterday that we thought that 6'7 Ben Eaves from Wooster (Academy) MA had verbally committed to the University of Connecticut, but did not add this one to our list of Recent Commitments or our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, because we had not confirmed it yet.  Well, it's now confirmed and this looks like one of the biggest steals of the entire Fall Signing Period, as we're talking about an athletic white kid originally from Preston, England who can run and jump, is versatile enough to play the two, three, and four spots, is a tough hardnosed competitor, and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  Eaves played for the English 18-Under Junior National Team, but it appears that the place where he made the biggest impression was at Eastern Invitational and, as a result, there was some very impressive competition for his services, as schools like Marquette, Georgia Tech, Pittsburgh, Providence, and USC also were involved.  However, even with the addition of Eaves, the Huskies' recruiting class drops from #3 to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, because 6'2 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI no longer counts with Connecticut's recruiting class.  Smith was supposed to go the prep school route, but he only lasted a day at South Kent (Prep) CT and, as a result, there are now questions about whether he is willing to do what it takes to make it academically.  So it appears that the Huskies yanked Smith's scholarship and, instead, are now poised to turn the heat up on another guard - i.e. 5'10 Eugene Harvey from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ and another big man - i.e. 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX and 6'11 Hamady Ndiaye from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA.  And, if the Huskies get either or both, then they would have one of the top three-ranked recruiting classes, right up there along with North Carolina and Ohio State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Remember, the Huskies also already have 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Jerome Dyson from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH, and 6'11 Jonathan Mandeldove from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  As for Smith, the door now appears to be back open for schools like Michigan, Michigan State, Arkansas, Miami-FL, Florida, and Villanova all to get back involved.  It also appears that USC recently landed 6'6 Kasey Cunningham from Albuquerque (Cibola) NM, who is ranked #137 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and the big connection here appears to be the fact that Cunningham's father was recruited to UTEP by USC head coach Tim Floyd, who is the top recruiter for Don Haskins in the late 70's and early 80's.  And we think this is a great catch for the Trojans, because Cunningham, who is really more of an undersized power forward than perimeter player, is a big time athlete and a force to be reckoned with his toughness on the boards and ability to slash to the basket.  The addition of Cunningham moves USC's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA and 6'7 Kevin Galloway from Sacramento (H.S.) CA, into a tie at #24, along with Florida and Florida State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But, even that doesn't illustrate the remarkable recruiting job that the new regime as done since Tim Floyd took over as the head coach at USC last spring.  If you will recall, the Trojans' finished with the #10-ranked recruiting class last spring when they landed 6'11 Abdoulaye Ndiayne from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'9 Jeremy Barr from Houston (Westbury Christian) TX, 5'10 Shaun Davis from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'3 Sead Odzic from Skokie (Niles West) IL, 6'8 Keith Wilkinson from Mission Viejo (Capistrano Valley) CA, 6'9 Rousean Cromwell from Bradenton (Pendleton School) F, 6'0 Ryan Francis from Baton Rouge (Glen Oaks) LA, and 6'2 Collin Robinson from Diamond Bar (H.S.) CA.  And all of these players, except for Odzic, were signed during the Spring Signing Period.  And, except for Davis, they all enrolled in school this fall.  So when you also add 6'5 Jr Daniel Hackett from Bellflower (St. John Bosco) CA and 6'5 Soph Malik Story from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, both of whom have already made early verbal commitments to the Southern Cal, and 6'5 Andre McFarland from Las Vegas (Durango) NV, who made an early verbal commitment to USC last spring, but more recently reneged, into the mix, the number of commitments that USC has received during the last eight months now stands at 13.  And we also think the Trojans will be tough to beat for 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who is ranked as one of the top 10 juniors in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP.  Our Canadian Editor Ro Russell tells us that 6'9 Devin-Brennan McBride from London (St. Thomas Aquinas) ON, who is ranked #78 our list of the Top 5th Year Players and is the equivalent of a top 200-300 senior nationally, has verbally committed to Syracuse and this is interesting for several reasons.  First, this is a natural fit, because McBride is from Ontario, Canada, which means he's almost right in the Orangemen's backyard.  Second, McBride should be an excellent complement to 6'4 Paul Harris from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and 6'6 Michael Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC in a recruiting class that is tied at #21, along with Memphis, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Third, McBride, who promises to be an excellent role player for the Orangemen, is good enough to help fill an immediate need a year from now, but isn't good enough to scare off 6'8 Jr Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD and 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, both of whom have already made early verbal commitments and are a part of Syracuse's #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  Russell also confirms that 6'9 Theo Davis from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA has reneged on his verbal commitment to Iowa State, but offers no insight as to who might now be involved.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'6 Asown Sayles from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has verbally committed to Ohio University and 6'8 Bass Yessoufou from Palm Beach (JC) FL has verbally committed to Palm Beach (JC) FL has verbally committed to St. Francis-NY and he thinks Penn State, St. Joseph's, La Salle, Siena, Virginia, Clemson, St. John's, Princeton, and American University are the early favorites for 6'11 Jr Todd O'Brien from New Holland (Garden Spot) FL.  Rubin also tells us that 6'5 Terrence Rodrick from Allentown (Allen) PA is being recruited by La Salle, George Mason, Niagara, Marist, and Rhode Island; 6'4 Ryan Brooks from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA is being recruited by Binghamton, Boston University, Navy, Albany, and Central Connecticut State; 6'4 Garrett Williams from Ardmore (Lower Merion) PA is getting the most interest from Lafayette, Rider, Bucknell, Pennsylvania, Boston University, and Miami-OH; and 6'2 Tyrone Lewis from Levittown (Truman) PA has narrowed it to Akron, Toledo, Canisius, Drexel, Virginia Commonwealth, Northeastern, and Central Connecticut State.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'7 Alejo Rodriguez from Bronx (Mt. St. Michael) NY, who is ranked #28 in the senior class in NYC by the HOOP SCOOP and is a rapidly improving power forward, has verbally committed to Iona. 

Wednesday, October 26, 2005

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'6 Robert Mitchell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA has verbally committed to Northeastern and we think this is big for the Huskies, because Mitchell is one of the fastest rising players in the nation.  Remember, this is the guy who was named the MVP in the playoffs at Five-Star's loaded Honesdale session late August and soon after verbally committed to St. Francis-NY.  However, more recently Mitchell reneged on that commitment and was back on the board until yesterday when he picked Northeastern over schools like Seton Hall, UTEP, and Marist.  Mitchell originally is from Brooklyn (Grand Street Campus) NY, but then spent last year at Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS and was supposed to Philadelphia (International Christian) PA prior to changing his mind and enrolling at Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  And, assuming that Mitchell doesn't change his mind again, this big time athlete who is versatile enough to do a lot of different things, although he needs to become a better 3-point shooter, should be able to walk-in next year and make an immediate impact for the Huskies.  Mitchell, who is ranked #28 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, also should provide the perfect complement to 5'10 Baptiste Bataille from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, who made it official for the Huskies last a week ago.  So now with two players in the fold who both fall in the 100-200 range nationally and have the potential to both move a lot higher, Northeastern head coach Ronnie Everhart and his staff can now turn their focus onto landing an inside player who will be able to come in and push 6'9 Jr Bennett Davis, 6'0 Soph Shawn James, and 6'10 Frosh Benson Egemonye, all of whom will return a year from now, for immediate playing time next season.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Xavier Keeling from Huntsville (Johnson) AL, who is ranked #143 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Indiana.  And our Alabama Editor Mark Komara thinks this is a great catch for the Hoosiers.  "He's one of the biggest sleepers in the nation," says Komara.  "He also is the toughest player I've ever coached and he can play four different positions.  He's an excellent ball handler and passer, terrific rebounder, and a big time athlete who also is one of the best high school football prospects in the nation.  But Keeling wants to play basketball in college and is comparable in many ways to Texas' P.J. Tucker.  And, just like Tucker, it doesn't matter who else you have in your program, you will find a way to play him."  Keeling, who also is strong, physical, and athletic, was being recruited by schools like Nebraska, Tennessee, and Pittsburgh.  But, if Indiana head coach Mike Davis hadn't used his strong Alabama contacts to get this one done, Murray State head coach Mick Cronin probably would have stolen this one.  Speaking of Murray State, did you know that the Racers won the race yesterday for 6'0 Brandon Evans from Jackson (Liberty) TN?   It also appears that Pittsburgh is making a strong push from 6'6 Tyler Smith from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA and 6'9 Asrangue Souleymane from Paola (JC) TX has verbally committed to George Washington.  If you will recall, this is the guy who signed with the University of Cincinnati two-and-a-half years ago when he was a high school senior at the Laurinburg (Institute) NC.  And, at the time, we thought it was a reach.  However, like they say, you can't teach height and athleticism and Souleymane now has two more years to have become accustomed to the American game while playing in the United States.  Besides the Colonials need all the help they can find inside to help replace 6'9 Sr P. Mensah-Bonsu, 6'8 Sr Mike Hall, 6'9 Sr Omar Williams, and 6'11 Sr Alex Kireev, all of whom will graduate after the current season.  And, as things stand now, the Colonials have not landed a single player in this year's recruiting class to go along with all the good  young players, like 6'5 Jr J.R. Pinnock, 6'4 Jr Carl Elliott, 6'8 Soph Regis Koundjia, 6'1 Soph Maureece Rice, 6'8 Frosh Robert Diggs, 6'7 Frosh Montrel McDonald, 6'4 Frosh Noel Wilmore, that are already in the program.  And, if that weren't enough, the Colonials also have 6'6 Soph Cheyenne Moore, who is transferred from Clemson, sitting out this year.  In other words, all George Washington head coach Karl Hobbs and his staff need to maintain the level of excellence that they've already achieved (GW was 22-8 last year and everybody, except 5'10 T.J. Thompson, is back) are a couple of more inside guys to go along with Souleymane and Diggs.  And what about the University of Texas getting 6'10 Matt Hill from Lincoln (Southeast) NE.  You know, that's the skilled big white kid who we'd never heard of before we saw him at the Reebok Big Time Tournament in Las Vegas, NV, but impressed us so much that we now have him ranked #126 nationally in the senior class.  Hill also has the potential to end up being ranked even higher and his addition puts the Longhorns into pretty fast company at #6, behind North Carolina, Ohio State, Connecticut, Louisville, and Washington and ahead of Duke, Oklahoma, Texas A&M, Arkansas, Georgetown, Villanova, Georgia Tech, Tennessee, Arizona, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Stanford, California, and Michigan State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  If you will recall, Texas already has 6'10 Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'2 Justin Mason from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX, and 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX in this year's recruiting class and, if they also get 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Willowridge) TX, then their recruiting class would move up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, even more important, the Longhorns will get the point guard that they need to replace 6'3 Soph Daniel Gibson, who likely will forego the rest of his college career and enter his name into the NBA Draft next spring, if the Longhorns live up to expectations this season.  But, then again, beating LSU for a kid who originally is from New Orleans (Brother Martin) LA is easier said than done.  Remember, LSU assistant coach Butch Pierre is one of the best recruiters in the nation and he's been almost impossible to beat in his own backyard in recent years.  It also appears that 6'7 Ben Eaves from Wooster (Academy) MA has verbally committed to the University of Connecticut, but we have not added this one to our list of Recent Commitments or our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, because we have no confirmed it yet.  We also understand that 6'4 Ernest Williams from Federal Way (H.S.) WA, who is ranked #223 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Utah State and he should be an excellent complement to all of the good junior college players that the Aggies landed a year ago.  If you will recall, Utah State's recruiting class, which featured 6'7 Chaz Spicer from Kankakee (JC) IL, 6'3 Michael Daniels from Grayson (JC) UT, 6'4 Tyler Newbold from Payson (H.S.) UT, 6'10 Steve Cobbley from North Idaho (JC) ID, 6'0 Mikel Watson from Oceanside (El Camino) CA, 6'11 Arvydas Vaitiekus from Marshalltown (JC) IA, 6'8 Nate Bendall from Salt Lake City (Skyline) UT, 6'4 Durrall Peterson from Hutchinson (JC) KS, 6'6 Chris Session from Grayson County (JC) TX, and 6'2 Everett Morgan from Los Angeles City (JC) CA, finished ranked #20 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005.  We also have confirmed that 6'0 Jr Keith Wiltz from Ontario (H.S.) CA has made an early verbal commitment to Long Beach State, 5'11 Cameron Rundles from Minneapolis (DeLaSalle) MN has verbally committed to Montana, 6'3 Michael Knight from St. Petersburg (JC) FL has verbally committed to Albany, and 6'5 Lawrence Ghoram from Zachary (H.S.) LA has verbally committed to Rice.

Tuesday, October 25, 2005

For those of you are wondering how the hurricane that hit the western coast of Florida over the weekend will effect this year's City of Palms Classic, which is scheduled to be held December 16th-22nd in Ft. Myers, FL, Donnie Wilkie tells us that all systems are go and that the tournament once again is absolutely loaded.  As a matter of fact, just today Wilkie, who invites the teams for the tournament and is one of the foremost authorities on high school basketball in the nation, added Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, which is the final team, to a field that already includes Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, Compton (Dominguez) CA, Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, Brentwood (Academy) TN, LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, Orlando (Jones) FL, Lake Wales (H.S.) FL, Sarasota (Riverview) FL, Cape Coral (H.S.) FL, and Ft. Myers (Bishop Verot) FL.  We're talking about a list of players that includes 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'9 Frosh Renardo Sidney from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Frosh Lance Stephenson from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 6'7 Frosh Aaron Moore from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Damion James from Nacogdoches (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'4 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'9 Jr Brandon Walters from Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, 5'10 Demond Carter from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'3 Patrick Christopher from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Jr Jeff Robinson from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Jr Marshall Moses from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'6 Jr Eric Wallace from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'4 Jr Quentin Watkins from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'0 Jr John Roberson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'5 Ruben Guillendeux from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'6 Tony Davis from Sarasota (Riverview) FL, 6'6 Jarvis Williams from Orlando (Jones) FL, 6'0 Jr Joey Rodriguez from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'7 Jr Chandler Parson from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, 6'6 Jr Dominique Lacy from Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC, 6'7 George Fotson from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'7 Yves Mekongo-Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'8 Yannick Formar-Nono from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, 6'3 Jr Allen Avagbayne from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'3 Jr Chris Sims from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'5 Jr Kevin Branch from LaPlace (Reserve Christian) LA, 6'7 A.J. Tolbert from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'5 Jr Jerry Howard from Orlando (Jones) FL, 6'8 Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'3 Dezon Otis from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'4 Jr Daryll Arnold from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 6'4 Abdollah Baume from Piney Woods (H.S.) MS, 5'9 Josh Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN, and 6'2 Calvin Liptrot from Orlando (Jones) FL.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that six of the players mentioned above are ranked among the top five players nationally in their class, respectively, as Ellington is our #3-ranked senior, Love is our #4-ranked junior, Jennings is our #1-ranked sophomore, and Sidney, Stephenson, and Moore are our #1, #2, and #5-ranked freshmen.  So, even if Sidney, who was ruled ineligible by the Mississippi State High School Association last week, is not able to play in the tournament, the tournament should be able to weather the storm with ease.  And it won't the be the first time this year that Wilkie's most carefully laid plans have gone astray.  If you will recall, Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA with 6'11 Brook Lopez, 6'7 Quincy Pondexter, and 6'11 Robin Lopez, who are ranked #12, #28, and #29, respectively, in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, was originally supposed to be in the field.  However, that changed when the coach got fired and the school principal decided not to let the team travel this year.  Upper Marlboro (Riverdale Baptist) MD was also supposed to be in the field until 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley and 6'2 Jr Nolan Smith, who ranked #2 and #6, respectively, in the junior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, decided to attend Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA this year.  And the same also can be said about Miami (Senior) FL until 6'0 Jr Edwin Rios, who is currently ranked #22 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, transferred to Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, and 6'4 Jonathan Hall, who is ranked #114 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, transferred for Miami (Northwestern) FL. Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ is still in the field, but without 6'8 Derrick Caracter, who is ranked #6 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Remember, Caracater transferred from from St. Patrick to Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA several weeks ago.  And, of course, there is Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, which also was originally supposed to be in the field, but has had so many players coming and going that it's almost impossible to keep track.  The future also looks extremely bright, as Wilkie already has Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, and Kernersville (Robert Glenn) NC lined up for December of 2006.  We also talked earlier this evening with John Rhodes, who is the Executive Director of the Beach Ball Classic, and he reminds us that this the 25 Anniversary of the Beach Ball Classic, which will be held in Myrtle Beach, SC, December 25th-30th.  And, once again, this year's field should be outstanding, as the list of teams includes Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, Herndon (H.S.) VA, Memphis (Mitchell) TN, Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, Dayton (Dunbar) OH, Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, Miami (Monsignor Pace) FL, Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH, Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, Miami (Senior) FL, Myrtle Beach (H.S.) SC, Myrtle Beach (Socastee) SC and the list of players includes 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 5'11 Soph Korie Lucious from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'7 Soph Delvon Roe from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'0 Scott Reynolds from Herndon (H.S.) VA, 7'1 Jr Alex Jacobson from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'4 James Dews from Liberty Township (Lakota East) OH, 6'6 Michael Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, 6'8 Dwayne Collins from Miami (Senior) FL, 6'3 Nigel Munson from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'2 Jr Kamyron Brown from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 7'0 Mitchell Carter from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI, 6'9 Jr Aaron Pogue from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'2 David Schneider from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ, 6'3 Soph Rayford Shipman from Miami (Pace) FL, 6'6 Soph Bryan Brown from Milwaukee (Rufus King) WI,  6'10 Jr Joe Latas from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'10 Jr Scott Moviel from Lakewood (St. Edwards) OH, 6'6 Ernest Fields from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'2 Wesley Channels from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'6 Andre Thornton from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'6 Jr Dasmine Cathey from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'2 Jr Carlos Brown from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, 6'7 Drew Smith from Riverside (Martin Luther King) CA, 6'3 Soph Jason Jones from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN, 6'3 Jr Justin Johnson from Phoenix (Brophy Prep) AZ.  That's six probable McDonald's All-American's in Young, King, Cook, Freeman, Lucious, and Roe and a total of 13 top players (Young, King, Cook, Freeman, Lucious, Roe, Reynolds, Jacobson, Dews, Jones, Collins, Munson, and Brown) who are ranked among our top 100 nationally in their respective classes. 

Monday, October 24, 2005

We thought 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN would pick either Memphis or Arkansas, but he surprised a lot of people this morning when he had his press conference and made it official for Georgia Tech.  However, this really shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, as Georgia Tech academically is a far superior school to the Memphis, Arkansas, and Kentucky, which were the other three schools left on his list.  And obviously academics were an important part of the decision, as Young is both an outstanding student and a great kid.  Young also is an incredible athlete and a tremendous natural talent with great hands, a gift for being able to slash to the basket, and a good shooting touch for somebody who is 6'8.  As a matter of fact, Young's only drawback is his large entourage, which created all kinds of havoc during the recruiting process.  This also is a huge addition for Yellow Jackets head coach Paul Hewitt, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the second highest senior still available, behind 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  Young also gives Georgia Tech not one, but two near locks for the McDonald's American Game, as they already have 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, who is ranked #7 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, in the fold.  They also have 6'11 Brad Sheehan from Latham (Shaker) NY, who is ranked #245 nationally in the senior class, but has a tremendous upside, and, as a result, Georgia Tech's recruiting class is now tied at #12, along with Villanova, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  The verbal commitment by Young also is important, because, with the verbal commitments by 7'0 Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI to Michigan State and 6'4 Adrion Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH to Xavier late last week, only nine players - 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'3 Tre'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'6 An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, and 6'11 Hamady Ndiaye from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL - that are ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally are still left on the board.  And one of the next shoes to drop will Willis, who tells us that he's down to only two schools (Memphis and UNLV) and that he plans to announce his decision on Saturday, October 29th.  We also have confirmed that Xavier has landed 6'10 Charles Bronson from Panola (JC) TX, who played in one game a year ago at East Carolina prior to going the junior college route.  And it appears that Bronson is an excellent catch for the Musketeers, as his game has been compared to that former Boston Celtics star Kevin McKale. "He's a very good low-block center.  He can guard a center and can play center.  He's very crafty."  The additions of both Graves, who is ranked #72 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and Bronson moves Xavier's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'8 Jason Love from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA, into a tie at #45, along with Oregon State, Maryland, N.C. State, and Dayton, on our  list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.   It also appears that Albany has landed 6'11 Brett Gifford from Rock Bridge (H.S.) MO and this is interesting for several reasons.  First, Gifford joins 6'8 Mike Yocum from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA to give Danes two excellent replacements inside for 7'1 Sr Kirsten Zoellner and 6'6 Sr Levi Levine, both of whom will graduate after the current season is over.  Second, there are people out there who think Gifford would be recruited at the high major level, if he'd waited until spring to sign.  Gifford didn't play in any major AAU tournaments during the spring or summer, but still was attracting interest from schools like Missouri, Wisconsin, Southeast Missouri State, Southwest Missouri State, Missouri-Kansas City, Illinois State, Ball State, Utah State, and Wisconsin-Milwaukee.  In other words, we're talking about an America East Rookie-of-the-Year and future Player-of-the-League candidate in the league, as well as somebody who belongs in the 101-300 range nationally.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'3 Brian McKenzie from Brooklyn (Xaverian) NY visited Providence over the weekend and is expected to pick the Friars over George Washington and Seton Hall by the end of the week.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 5'11 Mack Gardner from Lexington (H.S.) TN has picked UT-Martin, 6'5 Carl Josey from Seymor (King's Academy) TN has picked VMI, and 6'0 Brandon Evans from Jackson (Liberty) TN is expected to pick either Lipscomb or Murray State in the immediate future.  Whitehead also notes that Gardner is the poster boy for overachieving and winning and says that Josey is one of the biggest sleepers in the state, because he did not play any AAU ball this summer.  Instead, this slasher/athlete who shoots the three and dunks in your face attended the Five-Star Basketball Camp and just worked on improving his game during the summer.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'2 Jamal Barney from Baltimore (Southwestern) MD, who is ranked #232 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is one of the top five seniors in the Baltimore area this year, has verbally committed to Rhode Island.  And this also is important, because Rhode Island's recruiting class moves up to #27 on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, as well as into a close second, behind Charlotte, which currently has the best recruiting class in the league.  If you will recall,  Rhode Island already has 6'6 Joe Mbang from Monroe (JC) NY, 6'6 Jonathan Cruz from Lawrence (Central Catholic) MA, and 6'7 Delroy James from Laurinburg (Institute) NC in the fold.   Rubin also tells us that Temple and La Salle are fighting it out for 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, UTEP is the heavy favorite for 5'11 Malik Alvin from Philadelphia (Simon Gratz) PA, and Lafayette leads for 6'9 Chris Gatley from Radnor (Archbishop Carroll) PA.  We also have confirmed that the University of Dayton received a verbal commitment last night from 5'11 London Warren from Jacksonville (Raines) FL.  And this is exactly what the doctor ordered for the Flyers, because Warren is ideally suited to complement the other good young player, like 6'2 Soph Brian Roberts, 6'7 Soph Norman Plummer, 6'8 Soph Chris Alvarez, 6'6 Soph Jimmie Binnie, 6'5 Frosh Charles Little, and 6'9 Frosh Desmond Adedeji, that Dayton head coach Brian Gregory already has in the program.  Warren has quick hands, great court vision, the ability to find the open man, and jet-like speed and quickness, which he uses to really push the tempo.  And, if that weren't enough, Warren is a great on-the-ball defender and, as a result, despite his lack of size, is ranked #228 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  The addition of Warren also moves Dayton's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Marcus Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary) OH, 6'9 Kurt Huelsman from St. Henry (H.S.) OH, and 6'3 Andreas Sandoval from Santa Fe (JC) FL, into a tie at #32, along with Clemson and St. Joseph's, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006. 

Saturday, October 22, 2005, & Sunday, October 23, 2005

This weekend Darren Matsubara hosted the adidas/EA Sports 702 Showcase in Las Vegas, NV and our list of the top 40 players that we scouted at the event includes 6'5 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA, 6'11 Soph Jeffrey Withey from San Diego (Horizon) CA, 6'10 Jr Melvin Oliver from Las Vegas (Cheyenne) NV, 6'6 Nathan Schulte from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) NV, 6'7 Juan Patillo from Las Vegas (Canyon Springs) NV, 6'9 Kenny Lawson from Vista (H.S. CA, 6'6 Andre McFarland from Las Vegas (Durango) NV, 6'7 Jr Billy White from Las Vegas (Green Valley) NV, 6'3 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palo Verde) CA, 6'5 Soph Dominic Powell from Las Vegas (Spring Valley) NV, 6'7 Jr Tim Shelton from Fresno (Clovis West) NV, 6'2 Jr Jonathan Atkins from Las Vegas (Trinity Valley) NV, 6'10 Soph Edgar Garibay from Compton (H.S.) CA, 6'6 Jonathan Tavernari from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV,  6'1 Jr Donte Poole form Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, 5'10 Jr Henry Thorns from Las Vegas (Valley) NV,  6'5 Frosh Milos Knezevic from Henderson (Coronado) NV, 6'2 Soph Troy Andrews from Los Angeles (Fremont) CA, 6'0 Jr Heiden Rattner from Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, 6'3 Soph Quintin Dailey from Las Vegas (Bishop Gorman) NV, 6'0 Soph Michael Elliot from Moreno Valley (Canyon Springs) CA, 6'3 Charles Boozer from Raleigh (Leesville Road) NC, 6'7 Jr Darshawn McClellan from Fresno (Edison) CA, 6'7 Soph Deante Jones from Las Vegas (Valley) NV, 6'0 Frosh Micah Fetters from Chandler (Hamilton) AZ, 5'10 Soph Darian Norris from Las Vegas (Mojave) NV, 6'2 Torrie Parker from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV, 6'1 Leon Sutton from Las Vegas (Spring Valley) NV, 6'2 Jr Terrance Stewart from Las Vegas (Del Sol) NV, 6'6 Jr Martez Christian from Las Vegas (Desert Pines) NV, 6'5 Jr Jason West from Las Vegas (Desert Pines) NV, 6'4 Jr Jonathan Vaughn from Los Angeles (Westchester) CA, 6'3 Dejon Jackson from Fresno (Clovis West) CA, 6'6 Justice Nall from Las Vegas (Foothill) NV, 5'11 Jr Mikie Josserard from Las Vegas (Centennial) NV, 6'3 Jr Shawn Thomas from Sacramento (H.S.) CA, 6'0 Jr Kellen Carter from Fresno (Edison) CA, 6'3 Jr 6'7 Ronnie Norsworthy from Las Vegas (Spring Valley) NV, 6'3 Justin Ayers from Fresno (Edison) CA, 6'4 Jr Dana Kendrid from Las Vegas (Clark) NV.  Atkins was clearly the best player and the co-MVP, along with Norris, in the Top 40 All-Star Game.  Elliot, who finished with 14 points, and Knezevic, who had 12 points and hit two of the four 3-pointers that were made in the game, we were the co-MVP's in the Underclassman All-Star Game (Freshmen and Sophomores).   The best performance in the Elite 24 All-Star Game was turned in by Schulte, who finished with 16 points, but also is a tremendous competitor and did all the little things that help you win.  And sharing MVP honors with Schulte in the Elite 24 All-Star Game was 6'7 Jr Tim Shelton from Fresno (Clovis West) CA, who finished with 12 points and impressed us with his athleticism and ability to slash to the basket.  We also were very impressed with Withey's skills and willingness to compete and Oliver's size, passing ability, and great hands.  However, after watching them both all weekend, we're still not sure which one we like better.  And we also can say the same about Patillo, McFarland, and Stinnett, who are three of the top four-ranked seniors in Las Vegas, NV, as they all showed flashes, but didn't do anything consistently to step ahead of the pack.  We also really liked all of the good young players, like Withey, Powell, Dailey, Knezevic, Norris, Jones, Fetters, Elliot, and 6'0 8th Grader Max Hooper from Sacramento, CA, who was the best 3-point shooters at the event, despite his young age. 

Friday, October 21, 2005

I've been anxiously awaiting a slow day so that we can bring back the Question of the Day, which we plan to post regularly in the future on the HOOP SCOOP's home page at hoopscooponline and will address the important topics of the day and hopefully from time-to-time even stir-up some controversy.  And the first topic that we plan to address involves our rankings of the top recruiting classes, which can be found exclusively in the Members Section by clicking  onto our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  As things stand now, North Carolina has the #1-ranked recruiting class with six players in the fold.  They are 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA and they are currently ranked #3, #4, #5, #46, #58, and #82, respectively, in the senior class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  In contrast, we had the original "Fab Five," which consisted Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Ray Jackson, ranked among our top five, top five, top 10, top 20, and top 80, respectively, in 1991.  And when you also take into consideration the fact that North Carolina's current recruiting class has three players (Ellington, Wright, and Lawson) who ranked among the top five in our Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors), we think that this class is clearly better than the original "Fab Five."  Not only is the first time that a school has landed three top five-ranked players in the same recruiting class dating back to when we started keeping track in 1983, but this also comes on the heels of North Carolina's top five-ranked recruiting class a year ago, which featured 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY.  However, there are a lot of people out there who think that if you sign a 7-foot athletic shoot blocking center like 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, who not only is the #1-ranked senior in the nation by the HOOP SCOOP, but also has the potential to someday be mentioned as one of the all-time great centers in the history of the game, along Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, George Mikan, and Shaquille O'Neal, then that trumps everything else.  And the rest of Ohio State's recruiting class, which also features 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, 6'9 Othello Hunter from Hillsborough (JC) FL, and 6'8 Josh Chichester from West Chester (Lakota West) OH, who plans to sign with the Buckeyes for football, but also counts with their recruiting class in basketball, because he plans to play both sports in college, is pretty darn good too.  Remember, Conley is ranked #22, Cook is ranked #25, Lighty is ranked #39, Chichester is ranked #131, and Hunter is the equivalent of a top 150 high school senior.  And, if that weren't impressive enough, the Buckeyes also have the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2008, as 6'10 Soph B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest Christian) OH and 6'3 Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, both of whom are ranked among the top 10 sophomores nationally, also are already in the fold for the Buckeyes.  So what do you think?  Do you subscribe to the theory that whoever signs the most good players wins or do you think that one player, like Greg Oden; two players, like Chris Webber and Juwan Howard; or three or four players, like Elton Brand, Shane Battier, Chris Burgess, and William Avery; is the only thing that matter when ranking recruiting classes?  I bring up the four players in Duke's 1997 recruiting class, because we had Iowa State's recruiting class, which featured Marcus Fizer and Jamaal Tinsley, ranked ahead of Duke that year.  But what do I know?  But, then again, former Iowa State head coach Larry Eustachy won 32 games and advanced to the NCAA's Elite Eight with those players in 2000. 

Thursday, October 20, 2005

University of Kentucky head coach Tubby Smith went to see Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA yesterday and he got a verbal commitment from this 6'9 athletic power forward on the spot.  And we think this is an excellent catch for the Wildcats, because we're talking about somebody who is ranked #53 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is force to be reckoned with around the basket, as he scores, rebounds, blocks shots, and doesn't take any prisoners.  Stevenson also should be an excellent complement to all of the big guys a year from now that the Wildcats already have in the program and it should be only a matter of time before he is the heir apparent to one of the inside spots, as it's probably still be only a matter of time before 6'10 Soph Randolph Morris goes pro and 7'3 Jr Shagari Alleyne, 7'0 Lukasz Obrzut, 6'8 Jr Rakalin Sims, and 6'7 Jr Sheray Thomas won't last forever.  Stevenson picked Kentucky over Texas Tech, Wake Forest, Miami-FL, and LSU and, as a result, the Wildcats' recruiting class, which already includes 6'4 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA, 6'4 Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA, and 6'4 Michael Porter from Modesto (Christian) CA, moves up to #15 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And it could move up to #6 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, if the Wildcats beat Arkansas, Georgia Tech, and Memphis for 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who Smith also went to see immediately after he left Stevenson and is the second highest ranked player still available.  But, for this to happen, three current Kentucky players will have to either file for early entry into the NBA Draft and/or transfer next spring.  As things stand now, the Wildcats have 13 players - 6'0 Sr Patrick Sparks, 5'9 Sr Brandon Stockton, 7'3 Jr Shagari Alleyne, 7'0 Lukasz Obrzut, 6'8 Jr Rakalin Sims, 6'7 Jr Sheray Thomas, 6'6 Jr Bobby Perry, 6'1 Soph Rajon Rondo, 6'3 Soph Joe Crawford, 6'1 Soph Ramel Bradley, 6'10 Soph Randolph Morris, 7'2 Frosh Jared Carter, 6'10 Frosh Adam Wiliams - on scholarship and four players already in this year's recruiting class.  Our guess is that Rondo will forgo the rest of his college eligibility after the current season, but, with only two players scheduled to graduate next spring, the Wildcats still may  have a lot of finessing to do, if everything fall right.  However, this would be a great problem to have.  It also appears that 7'0 Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, who is the best shot blocker in the senior class nationally and is ranked #66 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is on the verge of picking Michigan State.  And, assuming that our sources are correct, the Spartans recruiting class, which also features 6'6 Isaiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN and 6'7 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH, would move up to #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But for Herzog to step in and immediately replace 6'11 Sr Paul Davis who graduate next spring, he'll have to get a lot bigger and stronger and become more of force inside.  We also have confirmed that 6'6 Will Harris from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH, who is ranked #15 on our list of the Top 5th Year Players, is back on the board for the third time.  If you will recall, Harris verbally committed to the University of Nebraska a year, but reneged last spring and then picked the University of Connecticut in June.  However, before you start to feel too bad for the Huskies, remember they still 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'3 Jerome Dyson from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH, and 6'11 Jonathan Mandeldove from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that La Salle has gotten a verbal commitment from 6'7 Yves Mekongo-Mbala from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  And he thinks this is an excellent catch, despite the fact Mekongo-Mbala is ranked no higher #378 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  This face-up four-man is a good rebounder, has a high basketball IQ, plays within his limitations, and plays for one of the best high school coaches in the nation in Kevin Boyle.  So Mekongo-Mbala should fit in perfectly with the other two players - 6'6 Kimmani Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ and 6'5 Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA - that La Salle has landed within the last week.  The addition of Mekongo-Mbala also moves La Salle's recruiting class into a tie at #53, along with Houston, Northwestern, Alabama, and St. Francis-NY, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And the Explorers aren't the only school in the Atlantic-10 that is getting it done.  Did you know that Charlotte has landed 6'9 Sean Phaler from Fullerton (JC) CA?  Yes, this is the same guy who originally signed with UCLA, but later was released from his scholarship when Ben Howland took over two years ago and ended up at New Mexico prior to going the junior college route.  Phaler is a tremendous 3-point shooter, but we've always thought he was soft and, as a result, never bought into all the hype.  However, Phaler is still good enough to step in and make an immediate impact next year for the 49ers and, as a result, moves Charlotte's recruiting class, which already includes 6'1 Carlos Williams from Wabash Valley (JC) IL, 6'5 Cameron Tatum from Tucker (H.S.) GA, and 6'5 Charles Dewhurst from Charlotte (Latin) NC, up to #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Did you also know that the University of Dayton has landed 6'3 Andreas Sandoval from Santa Fe (JC) FL?   Yes, that's the same guy who averaged 6.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg, and 2.5 apg last year as a freshman at the University of Richmond, but decided to go the junior college route last spring when Jerry Wainwright and his staff left for DePaul.  The addition of Sandoval moves Dayton's recruiting class, which also includes 6'3 Marcus Johnson from Akron (St. Vincent-St. Mary's) OH and 6'9 Kurt Huelsman from St. Henry (H.S.) OH, into a tie at #43, along with Oregon State, Maryland, and N.C. State, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And that's not the only good news that the Flyers coaching staff has received today, as Dayton head coach Brian Gregory, who is one of the bright up-and-coming head coaches in the business, was given a new contract that will run through 2013.  We also have confirmed that 6'1 Armon Bassett from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA has reneged on Missouri and now appears to be heading to Indiana.  However, the big verbal commitment that the Hoosiers are hoping to secure is 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX and our Texas Editor Tim Miller tells us that it's now only a two-horse race for this athletic combo forward who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and is the highest ranked unsigned players who is still available.  It also appears that 6'5 Greivas Vasquez from Rockville (Montrose Christian) MD, who is ranked #132 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is close to picking the University of Maryland over Virginia Tech and we understand that 6'8 Howard Crawford from Eutaw (Green County) AL has verbally committed to UAB, 6'4 Brad Brownell from Raleigh (Word of God) NC has verbally committed to UNC-Wilmington, 6'6 Bristan Kelley from Lee's Summit (North) MO has verbally committed to Northern Illinois, and 6'3 Jon Ogolo from Vienna (Madison) VA has verbally committed to Elon College.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

I told you on Sunday that we'd publish Lavel Johnson's updated Mississippi Report within the next several days.  Well, it's finished and it includes his ranking in order of the top 10 5th Year Players, top 80 seniors, top 45 juniors, top 31 sophomores, top 12 freshmen, top seven 8th Graders, and top seven 7th Graders.  It also features six all-state teams, which includes the top 30 players in the state regardless of class and position and, especially interesting is the fact that 10 of those players - 6'10 Michael Washington, 6'8 Gary Flowers, 6'3 Verice Cloyd, 6'5 Saiquon Stone, 6'8 Brandon Crooks, 6'7 Eric McKinney, 6'4 Giovanni Sims, 6'9 Michael Thurogood, 5'11 Mark Hill, and 6'0 Jermonte Bush - are at Mendenhall (Genesis One) MS, which first showed up on our radar screen a year ago and now appears to be one of the premier basketball factories in the nation.  We also get some good analysis from Johnson about the top players in the state and, as a result, once again are way ahead of competition.  Remember, more sleepers still come out of the Deep South than any other area of the nation.  Speaking of sleepers from the Deep South, our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis tells us that 5'10 Baptiste Bataille from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA has verbally committed to Northeastern.  We have Bataille ranked #150 nationally in the senior class, but most people in our business don't even know he's alive, because only recently did migrate from France to the United State.  We're talking about somebody who is tough as nails, has tremendous leadership qualities, knows how to run a team, and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  So obviously he's a major steal for the Huskies.  But, even more important, Bataille promises to be the perfect replacement for 6'0 Sr Jose Juan Barea, who averaged 22.2 ppg and 7.3 apg and was the first player in seven years to ranked among the top eight nationally in both scoring and assits last season.  And making the story even more interesting is the fact Bataille also is an excellent student and the deciding factor in his decision is that he wants to major in Marine Biology in college and Northeastern has an excellent Marine Biology school.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Lehigh as gotten a verbal commitment from 6'6 Zahir Carrington from Philadelphia (Masterman) PA, who is ranked #32 on our the Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report.  However, Rubin thinks Carrington is better than that, but he dropped him, because Carrington has spent the last year trying to become a wing forward, instead, of doing what he does best, which is taking care of business inside.  "Carrington is an undersized athletic face-up four-man," says Rubin.  "And, if that's the position he plays in college, the value of his stock goes way up."  Carrington goes to the best public high school academically in the Philadelphia area, so it should come as no surprise that he's an excellent student, as well as an excellent complement to the three guards - 6'0 Marquis Hall from Portland (Jefferson) OR, 6'0 Matt Shamis from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, and 6'5 Carl Beyer from Moline (H.S.) IL - that are already in apart of the Mountain Hawks' recruiting class.  Speaking of Lehigh's recruiting, it's currently tied at #66, along with Eastern Kentucky and Mt. St. Mary's, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and it ranks a close second behind Holy Cross among teams in the Patriot League.  We also have confirmed that Wagner has landed 6'2 T.J. Czeski from Amsterdam (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #644 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP and played point guard for the Albany City Rocks this past spring and summer.  Czeski doesn't have great speed and quickness, but he is an excellent athlete, as is evident by the fact that he's an all-state quarterback and defensive back in football.  He also has good ball handling and passing skills, good leadership skills, and an excellent understanding of the game.  In other words, Czeski is like a coach on the floor and is excellent in a structured system, which means he should be ideally suited to step in and complement all of the good young players that Wagner head coach Mike Deane already has in the program.  Remember, Wagner won 11 of its last 13 games season and eight of the top nine players from that team return.  And in addition to 6'1 Sr DeEarnest McLemore, 6'7 Jr Durell Vinson, 6'6 Jr Matt Vitale, 6'5 Jr Jamal Webb, 6'2 Soph Mike Porter, 6'5 Soph Jamal Smith, 6'6 Soph James Ulrich, and 6'2 Soph Joey Mundweiler, all of who averaged between 11.2 ppg and 4.9 ppg a year ago, Wagner also has three freshmen in 6'5 Frosh Doug Elwell, 6'9 Frosh Matt Kittrell, and 6'4 Lew Radford, all of whom are expected to make an immediate impact this season.  It also looks like the final two for 7'0 Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, who is ranked #66 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are Michigan State and Notre Dame and we believe that a verbal commitment could be forthcoming sooner than later.  And, if this happens, another one of the highest ranked seniors still available will be off the board.  As things stand now, Herzog is the 8th highest ranked senior, behind 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 6'0 Darryl Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'3 Tre'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'9 Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA, and 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, who is still available.

Tuesday, October 18, 2005

We talked yesterday about the big verbal commitments that Texas Tech got from 6'1 Charles Burgess from Howard (JC) TX and Texas A&M got from 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX and 6'4 Derrick Roland from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, but we didn't get chance to tell you that 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX had verbally committed to the University of Texas.  We're talking about a 6'10 wide-bodied physical specimen with soft hands, a nice hook shot, and an incredible upside.  However, for Pittman to ever live up to his vast potential, he'll have to drop a lot of weight (he's currently listed at 6'10, 320-pounds) and you can bet that's exactly what the Longhorns coaching staff was telling him, as they sold him on their incredible training facilities and the fact they have one of the best strength and conditioning programs in the country.  Currently we have Pittman ranked #55 nationally in the senior class, but there is no telling how good he can become, if he continues to progress at the pace at which he's been developing during the last six months.  And we got a chance to see this first hand at the NBA Players Association Camp, where he was probably the most improved player in camp from start-to-finish, as we had him ranked #38 overall and #6 at the center position, behind 6'9 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, 6'9 Taj Gibson from Simi Valley (Stoneridge Prep) CA, 6'10 Vernon Macklin from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, 6'11 Jr Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, and 6'10 Jr Keenan Ellis from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, at the conclusion of the camp.  Pittman also appears to be a chip-off-the-old-block, as his father, 7'0 John Pittman, also from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, who originally signed with the University of Kentucky, but ended up playing college basketball at Oklahoma State, was ranked as a 9th Team All-American by the HOOP SCOOP back in 1987.  The addition of Pittman also means that the race is on between Texas and Texas A&M to see which school will have the best recruiting class.  As things stand now, we have Texas' recruiting class tied at #7, along with Oklahoma, and Texas A&M's recruiting class ranked #9, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And both schools are in head-to-head battles for 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, whose final three are Texas A&M, Texas, and Connecticut, and 6'10 Jeremy Mayfield from Houston (Gulf Shores) TX, who still has Texas, Texas A&M, Miami-FL, Oklahoma, and South Florida on his list.  If the Aggies get either player, that would be enough to move Texas A&M's recruiting class up to #6, behind North Carolina, Ohio State, Connecticut, Louisville, and Washington, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  If the Longhorns get one of these two players and 6'0 Darryl Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, whose final two are LSU and Texas, then their recruiting class would move up to #4 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if the Longhorns get both Augustine and Davis, then we'd be talking about a recruiting class that would be even better than Texas' #1-ranked recruiting class from two years ago, which included 6'3 Daniel Gibson from Houston (Jones) TX, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, 7'0 LaMarcus Aldridge from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'7 Dion Dowell from Texas City (H.S.) TX, and 6'10 Connor Atchley from Clear Lke (H.S.) TX and now is the heart-and-sole of this year's team that is now ranked #3 in our Pre-Season Ranking of the Top 30 College Basketball Teams for the 2005-2006 Season.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'6 James Barrett from Howard (JC) TX has verbally committed to Sam Houston State and 6'3 Jr Marcus Matthews from Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY has made an early verbal commitment to the University of Massachusetts.  Naclerio currently has Matthews ranked #19 in the junior class in NYC, but he also tells us that this slasher/scorer/athlete will likely grow several more inches and has a chance to be really good.  Barrett, who already has made stops at Brooklyn (Lincoln) NY, Brooklyn (Bishop Loughlin) NY, and Milford (Academy) CT, is your typical undersized power forward.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Nathaniel Roche from Harvey (West Jefferson) LA has verbally committed to Louisiana-Monroe and 6'6 Louis Birdsong from Baltimore (Mt. St. Joseph) MD has become the second player in George Mason's recruiting class.  And Birdsong should be an excellent complement to 6'7 Darryl Monroe from Central Florida (JC) FL, who is the other player in the Patriots' recruiting class and, just like Birdsong, was recruited to help replace 6'7 Sr Jai Lewis, who will graduate after the current season.  Birdsong is strong, athletic, and tough around the basket, as he scores, block shots, and dominates on the boards.  However, Birdsong also can step out and keep you honest with his mid-range game, which means he likely will be a four/three at the college level.  Currently Birdsong is ranked among the top five seniors in the Baltimore area and is from the same high school as George Mason's 6'7 Soph Will Thomas.  And, this too is important, because it shows that the Patriots are still able to get it done with the best of them on the recruiting trail.  Remember former George Mason assistant coaches Billy Courtney and Mike Gillian were two of the best assistant coaches in the nation at the mid-major level.  However, last spring Courtney left to take a similar position at last spring at Providence and Gillian has been the head coach at Longwood University for two years. 

Monday, October 17, 2005

The HOOP SCOOP has confirmed that 6'1 Charles Burgess from Howard (JC) TX, who is ranked among the top 10 junior college players in the nation by Street & Smith's 2005-2006 College Basketball Yearbook and is the #2-ranked point guard in the junior college ranks by the Lindy's 2005-2006 Basketball Yearbook, has verbally committed to Texas Tech.  And this is big for the Red Raiders, because Burgess appears to be the highest rated player that Bob Knight and his staff have landed since taking over at the helm of the Red Raiders four-and-a-half years ago.  Burgess, who is an awesome defender with jet-like speed and quickness and a tough New York City point guard mentality, is exactly what Knight was looking for to come in run his motion offense.  He also should be the perfect complement to 6'1 Jr Jarrius Jackson in the backcourt a year from now, as the Texas Tech once again promises to have one of the best backcourts in the league (last year Jackson and 6'2 Ronald Ross, who graduated last spring, were second to none, as they combined to average 32.8 ppg, 8.9 rpg, and 6.5 apg).  And making the story even more interesting is the fact that Texas Tech currently doesn't have senior on its roster, which means by the time Burgess arrives a year from now, all of those freshmen that they landed in last year's recruiting class, including 6'7 Frosh Dior Lowhorn, 6'5 Frosh Terry Martin, 6'8 Frosh Justin Wilkerson, 6'6 Frosh Dazzmon Thornton, 6'7 Frosh Michael Prince, and 6'7 Frosh Jeremy Buttel, will have year of maturity under their belt.  And they should be pretty good this year, because three starters - Jackson, 6'5 Soph Martin Zeno, and 6'9 Jr Darryl Dora - return and Lowhorn, who is a big time athlete and a fierce competitor on the around the basket, should be one of the best newcomers in the league.  It also appears that Texas A&M has scored a major coup by landing 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX and 6'4 Derrick Roland from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, who ranked #60 and #128, respectively, nationally by the HOOP SCOOP.  Obviously it's important for the Aggies to get their fair share of the top players in the state, but it looks like head coach Billy Gillispie and his staff are exceeding all expectations as all six of the players - Sloan, Roland, 6'8 Gary Flowers from Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS, 6'7 Jerrod Johnson from Humble (H.S.) TX, 6'6 Joseph Fulce from Plano (H.S.) TX, and 5'11 Bryan Beasley from Pflugerville (H.S.) TX - that they've landed in this year's recruiting class, which is currently ranked #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 - are in-state players.  Flowers also counted with last year's recruiting when he was at Dallas (Lincoln) TX.  Speaking of last year's recruiting class, did you know that it  also included 6'7 Martellus Bennett from Alief (Taylor) TX, 6'3 Eddie Smith from Moberly (JC) MO, 6'10 Antanas Kavaliauskas from Barton County (JC) KS, 5'11 David Devezin from Missouri City (Ft. Bend) TX, and 6'6 Josh Carter from Lake Highlands (H.S.) TX and was ranked #9 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2005?  And when you also remember that 6'9 Soph Joseph Jones, who averaged 12.7 ppg and 7.3 rpg as a freshman a year ago, 6'3 Soph Dominique Kirk, and 6'1 Soph Kenneth White also have three more years of eligibility remaining, it's easy to see why the Aggies coaching staff can be very selective about who the go after for a while.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'9 Austin Wallace from New York (La Salle) NY, who is ranked #215 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked Pittsburgh over Florida International and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'6 Kimmani Barrett from Paterson (Catholic) NJ, who is ranked #215 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked La Salle.  Rubin also tells us that 6'5 Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, who is ranked #271 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has picked the Explorers.  If you will recall, Rubin told us in August that this was going to happen, but he never followed up on it with us, despite the fact that Green gave him the scoop several weeks ago at Rick Barrett's Midnight Madness, until now.  Rubin also thinks Barrett, who is an athletic undersized power forward, and Green, who is an athletic wing player, will complement one another extremely well and, as a result, new Explorers head coach John Giannini continues to build a strong foundation.  Remember, La Salle also stole another one last spring when they signed 6'6 Paul Johnson from Washington (Gonzaga) DC.  Wallace is ranked #358 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, because he's like a deer learning to run, as he lacks both toughness and skills, but is young for class, has big time athleticism, and a world of potential.  We also have confirmed that Jacksonville has landed 6'9 Szymon Lukasiak from Montverde (Academy) FL and 6'6 Tyrone Curnell from Winter Garden (West Orange) CA and, in both cases, it looks like the Dolphins have landed two players who should be able to make an immediate impact next year.  Did you know that Curnell, who is a big time slasher/athlete, was ranked #9 in the senior class in the state by our Florida Editor Rick Staudt the last time he updated his rankings?  Lukasiak is a left-handed athletic center who works hard, rebounds, scores from 10-feet and in, and is good at setting picks and screens.  It also appears that 6'5 James Williams from Cloud County (JC) KS has verbally committed to St. Bonaventure and this too is a huge catch.  Not only are we talking about one of the best junior college 2-guards in the nation, but Williams is versatile enough to play the one, two, and three spots and is a terrific scorer, passer, and rebounder.  In other words, the Bonnies have found the ideal replacement for 6'5 Sr Ahmad Smith and 6'4 Sr Wade Dunston, as well the perfect complement to 6'0 Soph Tyler Relph, who is expected to step in and run the show after transferring from West Virginia to St. Bonaventure a year ago. 

The verbal commitment by 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, who picked North Carolina over Duke and Kentucky last night, probably comes as a big surprise to a lot of people.  But not to us.  As a matter of fact, on Friday, October 7th, we raised this possibility when said that if North Carolina "happens to beat Duke and Kentucky for Wright, they will have three of our top five-ranked seniors in the same recruiting class.  And this is unprecedented since we started the HOOP SCOOP in 1983.  A quick review of our archives, which you can do as well by clicking on National Player Rankings, shows North Carolina currently with 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, Michigan State with Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor in 2000, Kentucky with Keith Bogans and Marvin Stone in 1999, St. John's with Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton in 1994, North Carolina with Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse in 1993, LSU with Randy Livingston and Ronnie Henderson in 1993, Michigan with Chris Webber and Juwon Howard in 1991, North Carolina with Eric Montross and Clifford Rozier in 1990, Kentucky with Eric Manual and LeRon Ellis in 1987, North Carolina with J.R. Reid and Scott Williams in 1986, Michigan with Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson in 1986, and Kentucky with James Blackmon and Winston Bennett in 1983 all have landed two top five-ranked seniors nationally in the same year.  However, nobody has landed three top five players in the same recruiting class up until possibly now.  And, if the Tar Heels pull this off, we really would be talking about another "Fab Five," plus one or two more players who are ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, as 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) NC check in at #46 and #82, respectively, in our Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006.  We also find it interesting that this is the fourth time North Carolina has accomplished this feat in the last 23 years.  Kentucky has done it three times, Michigan has done it twice, and Michigan State, St. John's, and LSU have all done it once."  The verbal commitment by Wright has also gotten some other dominos to start falling, as 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN and 6'7 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, who are ranked #14 and #15 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, are no longer being recruited by the Tar Heels.  According to our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman, the final four for Young now appear to be Arkansas, Memphis, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech and Crews made it official for the University of Tennessee earlier today.  And this is big for the Volunteers, because Crews is a blue collar athletic power forward who is a ferocious rebounder and unstoppable force around the basket.  Sure, Crews may be a little undersized, but he more than made up for that during the summer, as is evident by the fact that he finished ranked #3 overall by the HOOP SCOOP at the NIKE All-American Camp and was one of the fastest rising players in the nation during the last six months.  However, even more important, the addition of Crews, who is similar in a lot ways to former Kentucky power forward Chuck Hayes, gives the new regime the killer inside that they will need to war with in the Southeastern Conference.  The addition of Crews also moves Tennessee's recruiting class up to #12, behind Arkansas and ahead of Florida, Kentucky, and South Carolina, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.   We also have confirmed that 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL has verbally committed to the University of Kansas.  And this is big for a number of reasons.  First, Collins is ranked #19 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which means he's one of the top three points guards in the nation, along with 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA.  Second, Collins is ideally suited to step in and immediately compete for playing time with 6'1 Frosh Mario Chalmers at the point guard spot, which means the Jayhawks should have one of the best backcourts in college basketball with Chalmers, Collins, 6'2 Soph Russell Robinson, and 6'4 Soph Rodrick Stewart all vying for playing time a year from now.  Third, the addition of Collins shows that Jayhawks head coach Bill Self is still extremely strong when it comes to recruiting in his old backyard.  Did you know that Self has landed two of the top four players that the state has produced since he left Illinois and took the Kansas job two-and-a-half year ago?  If you will recall, 6'6 Shaun Livingston from Peoria (Central) IL picked Duke prior to by-passing college and entering his name into the NBA Draft two years ago, 6'8 Julian Wright from Flossmoor (Homewood-Flossmoor) IL picked Kansas last fall; 6'6 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL picked Duke last spring, and Collins now has verbally committed to Kansas.  And the Jayhawks are hoping to hit the trifecta by beating the University of Illinois and nearly every other big time school in the nation for 6'3 Jr Derrick Rose from Chicago (Simeon) IL, who promises to be the next great player to come out the state a year from now.  And, while Self's strong contact in the state certainly helped when it came to recruiting Collins, Kansas assistant coach Kurtis Townsend also deserves a lot credit, because he did most of the work when it came time to getting this one done.  Fourth, the addition of Collins could be the start of what is potentially another excellent recruiting class.  Currently we have the Jayhawks' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'3 Brady Morningstar from New Hampton (Prep) NH,  tied at #35, along with Michigan, Baylor, and Iowa, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But, if they also land 6'9 Darrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, who is ranked #11 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has Kansas right at the top of his list, then the Jayhawks' recruiting class would move into a tie at #15, along with Stanford, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if that happens, it's our guess that they will turn their focus onto Rose and 6'11 Jr Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, who is a legitimate top 15 player in the junior class nationally.  Remember, Kansas already has nine freshmen and sophomores -  6'2 Soph Russell Robinson, 6'10 Soph C.J. Giles, 6'9 Soph Darnell Jackson, 6'4 Soph Rodrick Stewart, 6'1 Soph Jeremy Case, 6'8 Frosh Julian Wright, 6'1 Frosh Mario Chalmers, 6'8 Frosh Micah Downs, and 6'7 Frosh Brandon Rush - in the program and they already have two players in this year's current recruiting class.  Moral to the story, if Kansas gets Arthur, Rose, and Aldrich and nobody transfers or goes pro, then they'd be one over the 13 scholarship limit when the Class of 2007 enrolls into a school a little less than two years from now.  However, that would be a very nice problem to have.  We also have confirmed that Arizona has gotten an early verbal commitment from 7'1 Jr Alex Jacobsen from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, who was ranked #88 the last time we updated our rankings of the top juniors nationally.  We're talking about somebody who just keeps getting better and better, has good skills, a tremendous upside, and plays for one of the premier high school programs in the nation.  And that appears to be the connection, as Arizona assistant coach Miles Simon and Reggie Geary, who is the Recruiting & Basketball Operations Coordinator for the Wildcats, both played high school for the legendary Gary McKnight at Mater Dei.  And this connection also may prove to be important when it comes time for 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA to make his college decision.  And making all of this even more intriguing is the fact that King and 6'8 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR are extremely close friends and the Wildcats are believed to be among the favorites for both players.  The same also can be said about 6'3 Jr Jerryd Bayless from Phoenix (St. Mary's) AZ and 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX and, if the Wildcats were to hit the jackpot and get all of these players, then they would have a "Fab Five" of their own, as all four of the just mentioned players (Love, Bayless, King, and Johnson) are ranked among our top 10 juniors nationally.  That's the good news for Arizona.  The bad news is that it just got that much tougher in their quest to land 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ.  If you will recall, Duke has only been actively recruiting two players - 6'10 Brandon Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN and 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ - in the senior class.  So now with Wright's decision yesterday to attend North Carolina, you can bet that the Blue Devils will turn the heat up that much more on Thomas and, as a result, it will be that much harder for Arizona to get this one done. 

Saturday, October 15, 2005, & Sunday, October 16, 2005

It's finally finished!  We're talking about Allen Rubin's Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report, which includes his ranking in order of the top 22 5th Year Players, 603 seniors, 475, juniors, 292 sophomores, 132 freshmen, 56 8th Graders, 15 7th Graders, 11 6th Graders, and three 6th Graders.  Yes, that's 1609 names in all, plus Rubin also provides us with eight All-Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Teams that include his ranking of the top players in the area regardless of class and position.  And particularly interesting is the fact that his all-area teams include six 5th Year Players, 19 seniors, 12 juniors, and three sophomores, which is a testament to the strength and depth of the senior and junior classes, especially in light of the fact that sophomore and freshmen classes are both extremely strong.  Rubin also has provided his ranking of the Best Shooters, Best Scorers, Best Playmakers, Best Rebounders, Best Shot Blockers, Best Defenders, and Most Improved Players and I have provided some interesting comments about the top players in each class and talk about just how strong the entire area is in general.  However, I'm not sure that I totally agree with all of his rankings.  And the best example comes with a quick look at the first team, which includes 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'4 Soph Tyreke Evans from Aston (American Christian) PA, and 6'2 Jr Antonio Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  Actually the first four are indisputable, but I'd replace Jardine with 6'9 Theo Davis from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  I'd also rank 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA ahead of 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Bonner Academy) PA and 6'9 Andrew Jones from Abington (Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA ahead of 6'5 Rodney Green from Philadelphia (Prep Charter) PA, 6'1 Matt McFadden from Medford (Shawnee) NJ, 6'5 Brian Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA, 6'8 Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, and 6'5 Alex Franklin from Reading (Central Catholic) PA.  However, all this is minor compared to the fact that Rubin didn't listen to me about 6'4 George Harper from Philadelphia (Roman Catholic) PA and 6'4 Frosh Henry Smith from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, who finished ranked #29 and #39, respectively, by the HOOP SCOOP at the 14-Under National AAU Tournament in Orlando, FL.  But, then again, it's his report.  Instead, my opinions will show up on the national reports.  Speaking of our national rankings, nine days ago we published our Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors) and, now that the 50-page Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report  is out of the way, I can now focus my attention on cranking out our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2007 (Juniors), which is the next thing on my agenda, after I publish Lavel Johnson's updated Mississippi Report within the next several days.  Also within the next month, I plan to publish our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2008 (Sophomores) and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2009 (Freshmen) and during the winter I will publish our Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2010 (8th Graders), Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2011 (7th Graders), and Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2010 (8th Graders).  I also hope to catch up on a number of our state-by-state reports, including the Washington, DC/Maryland/Virginia and Texas reports.  If you will recall, Dennis Marshall and Tim Miller are our new editors in those areas.  I also will come out with a Ranking of the Top 100 Junior College Players and some pre-season college rankings comparisons that will complement our 2005-2006 Pre-Season Ranking of the Top 30 Teams, which was published on September 22nd.  I also already have plans to attend events like the Eddie Griffin Challenge in Philadelphia, PA on October 30th, the Marshall County Hoop Fest in Benton, KY on December 2nd-3rd, the City of Palms Classic in Ft. Myers, FL on December 16th-22nd, and the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, SC on December 26th-28th and the Academy National Invitational in Houston, TX On December 29th-30th.  In other words, it never ends and, as a result, there is never a good time to let your subscription expire.  Also make sure you don't give out your user name and password to people that you don't see on a daily basis.  Remember, we made everybody change their user name and password several weeks ago and this process will continue every three or four months as we attempt to cut down on the number of people who are fraudulently gaining access to our web site. 

Friday, October 14, 2005

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'9 Andreas Schreiber from Los Angeles (Brentwood) CA has verbally committed to Pennsylvania, 6'5 Carl Bayer from Moline (H.S.) IL has verbally committed to Lehigh, and 6'5 Zach Evans from West Hills (Chaminade) CA and 6'8 Pat Behan from Middleburg (Notre Dame) MA have both verbally committed to Bucknell.  Evans was ranked #65 in the state the last time our West Coast Editor Dinos Trigonis updated his California rankings and Behan had a good post-up game when we saw him in July at the Reebok ABCD Camp.  Bayer becomes the second player in the state of Illinois that Lehigh has landed in this year's recruiting class, so it appears that Mountain Hawks head coach Billy Taylor, who originally played high school basketball at Aurora (West Aurora) IL, is going back to his old stamping grounds get players.  If you will recall, Lehigh already has verbal commitments from 6'0 Marquis Hall from Portland (Jefferson) OR and 6'0 Matt Shamis from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL and, as a result, the Mountain Hawks' recruiting class now is tied at #86, along with Akron and Navy, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Schreiber, who is ranked #539 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, needs to get meaner and tougher inside, but has good skills, an excellent body, and a nice touch out to mid-range.  Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that Drexel has landed 6'5 Lance Fuertado from Uniondale (H.S.) NY and he thinks this is a good catch for the Dragons.  "He's an excellent athlete, has a good jump shot, and is a team player," says Naclerio.  "He wasn't on a lot of people's radar screen, but I know several mid-to-low Division I schools that were hoping to steal him."  We also have confirmed that 6'11 Franklin Jones from Durham (Mt. Zion Christian) NC has verbally committed to South Florida.  Currently we have Jones ranked #90 on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, but, if the light ever clicks on and he gets into shape and become more motivated, then we could be talking about a force in the middle for the Bulls.  And, if this happens, Jones could be the perfect complement to all of the good players, including 6'2 David Sills from Bunker Hill (JC) MA, 6'3 Chris Howard from Middleburg (Notre Dame) MA, 6'10 Frane Markusovic from Croatia, 6'7 Melvyn Richardson from Lon Morris (JC) TX, 6'7 McHugh Matthis from St. Petersburg (JC) FL, 6'6 Rob Thomas from South Kent (Prep) CT, and 6'4 Dante Curry from Kissimmee (Poinciana) FL, that South Florida has landed since Bulls head coach Robert McCullum added Julius Allen and Greg Gary to his staff a year ago.  The addition of Jones also moves South Florida's recruiting class, which also includes Thomas and Curry, into a tie at #22, along with Kentucky and Charlotte, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead and our Mid-South Editor Jim Rothman both tell us that 6''8 Jeremy Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, who is ranked #293 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, picked the University of Colorado over the University of Tennessee yesterday.  And, while this initially came as somewhat of a surprise, it makes perfect sense when one remembers that Colorado assistant coach John Anderson was a long time head coach at Memphis (Hillcrest) TN and, as a result, has more than his fair share of ties in the Mid-South.  Whitehead also tells us that 6'4 Mike Williams from Manchester (Coffee County) TN appears to be close to making a verbal commitment to the East Tennessee State.  It also appears that Gardner-Webb has landed 5'10 Wesley Mincey from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA.  Sure, he's small and is only ranked #799 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  But still really like Mincey, because he knows how to run the show, make his teammates better, has good handling and passing skills, and was the glue that held everything together on his high school team  a year ago.  It also appears that 6'6 Nick Aldridge from South Webster (H.S.) OH and 6'5 Brandon Giles from Auburndale (H.S.) FL have both verbally committed to Western Carolina, 6'6 Aaron Henson from Corona (Santiago) CA has verbally committed to Wyoming, and 6'9 Abdullahi Kuso from Tallahassee (JC) FL has verbally committed to Gonzaga.  That last one is especially interesting, because Kuso is ranked as a Fourth Team Junior College All-American by Street & Smith's 2005-2006 College Basketball Yearbook.  Kuso is originally from Kaduna, Nigeria and this wide-bodied athlete, who picked Gonzaga over Clemson and Massachusetts, averaged 11.6 ppg, 8.8 rpg, and 1.5 bpg.  So it appears that he is ideally suited to step and immediately replace 6'9 Sr J.P. Batista next season.  This also is the second big man that the Zags have landed within the last week.  If you will recall, yesterday we reported that 6'11 Robert Sacre from North Vancouver (H.S.) BC had picked Gonzaga.  The Zags also have received verbal commitments from 6'5 Matt Bouldin from Highlands Ranch (Thunder Ridge) CO and 6'2 Jr Steve Gray from Port Hadlock (Bainbridge) WA and, as a result, there appears to be no end in sight for Gonzaga head coach Mark Few, who has done the only thing that's harder than getting a program to the top.  And that's keeping it there! 

Thursday, October 13, 2005

Did you know that Arkansas got a verbal commitment a week ago from 6'6 Sonny Weems, who is ranked as one of the top five junior college players in the nation by Street & Smith's 2005-2006 College Basketball Yearbook?  Neither did we until somebody tipped us off yesterday.  However, this is still huge for the Razorbacks, because we're talking about an athletic wing forward who thrives in transition, has a good mid-range game, and can shoot the three.  The addition of Weems also means that the Arkansas coaching staff in now well on its way towards replacing 6'1 Sr Eric Ferguson, 6'4 Sr Jonathan Modica, and 6'4 Sr Dontell Jefferson, all of whom will graduate after the conclusion of the upcoming season.  Weems is versatile enough play both guard or forward, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 17.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 2.0 apg, 2.0 spg a year ago.  He also is originally from West Memphis, AR, which is important, because this helps give the Razorbacks a connection back into the Memphis area.  Did you know that currently Arkansas does not have a single player from the Mid-South on its roster?  And they beat out all of the schools that traditionally recruit in this area, as Weems picked the Razorbacks over Memphis, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Baylor.  The addition Weems moves Arkansas' recruiting class, which also already includes 6'10 Michael Washington, who recently transferred from Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX to Mendenhall (Genesis I) MS, and 6'2 Stefan Welsh from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, up to #8 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they also get 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, who is ranked #14 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP and still has Arkansas, Memphis North Carolina, Kentucky, Georgia Tech, and Tennessee on his list, then the Razorbacks will not only have what would arguably be the best trio of incoming of wing players in the conference, but their recruiting class will move up to #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, as long as we're catching on verbal commitments by junior college players, it also appears that 6'4 Demetrius Green from Daytona Beach (JC) FL has verbally committed to Middle Tennessee State, 6'3 Rob McKiver from San Jacinto (JC) TX has verbally committed to Houston, 6'9 Demar Dotson from Southeastern Illinois (JC) IL has verbally committed to Southern Miss, 5'11 Lamar Wilson from Northeast (JC) NE has verbally committed to Minnesota, 6'4 Gordon Chase from Sheridan (JC) WY has verbally committed to Montana, 6'1 Marcus McCants from Olney Central (JC) IL has committed to Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and 6'5 Robert Hines from Arizona Western (JC) AZ has verbally committed to St. Francis-NY.  The verbal commitment by Green, who is ranked among the top 25 junior college players in the nation by Street & Smith, to Middle Tennessee is especially interesting, because we thought, if Green ended up being good enough, he'd want to return home to play for the University of Kentucky.  If you will recall, he originally is from Lexington (Catholic) KY and he's always been a Wildcats fan.  However, it comes as no surprise that the Blue Raiders would be able to walk in and steal one of the top junior college players in the nation.  Remember, few programs at the mid-major level have recruited any better than Middle Tennessee State in recent years and Blue Raiders assistant coach Donnie Tyndall has a long history of helping land great recruiting classes. The verbal commitment by Hines also is noteworthy, because this 6'5 undersized power forward signed with Hofstra last spring, but did not make it academically and, as a result, is sitting out this year attempting to get the remaining credits that he needs to come eligible.  It also appears that Hines is the replacement for 6'5 Robert Mitchell from Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA, who verbally committed to St. Francis-NY a month ago, but now has reneged on the Terriers.  We also have confirmed that 6'8 Joe Trapani from Madison (Daniel Hand) CT has verbally committed to the University of Vermont.  We're talking about a 6'8 power forward who was the Most Outstanding Player for the Week at sessions of  both Five-Star and Eastern Invitational during the summer.  Trapani also is pretty athletic and very skilled, which means he is should be an excellent complement to 6'1 Nick Vier from Oradell (Bergen Catholic) NJ, who also verbally committed to the Catamounts several weeks ago.  It also looks like the University of Texas has landed 6'3 Harrison Smith from Houston (Jones) TX and Gonzaga has gotten an early verbal commitment from 6'11 Jr Robert Sacre from North Vancouver (H.S.) BC.  If you will recall, Sacre finished ranked #11 at the center position by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp in July.  Sacre does need to get bigger and stronger physically, but he is very active and has good skills and a soft tough around the basket.  In other words, we're talking about a legitimate top 150 junior nationally, as well as somebody with a huge upside.  Smith is ranked #235 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, but he still should provide valuable depth for the Longhorns, which also have 6'10 Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'2 Justin Mason from Amarillo (Palo Duro) TX in a recruiting class that is now ranked #14 on list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if the Longhorns also get 6'0 D.J. Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, who is ranked #26 nationally in the senior class by  the HOOP SCOOP, then their recruiting class that would move up to #6, behind Ohio State, Connecticut, North Carolina, Louisville, and Washington, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, right now it looks like it's too close to call between Texas and LSU.  So stay tuned! 

Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio told us over the weekend that the verbal commitment that 6'6 Will Harris from Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH made during the summer to the University of Connecticut might be shaky.  And now we know why, as the Huskies have landed 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, who is ranked #13 nationally in the senior class class by the HOOP SCOOP and was the third highest ranked senior still available behind 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN and 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX.  Robinson also is ideally suited to follow in the footsteps of Charlie Villanueva, who entered his name into the NBA Draft last spring, and 6'9 Soph Rudy Gay, who probably will do likewise after the current season, because he can play either forward spot and has prototypical NBA-like athleticism, skills, and natural talent.  Remember, Robinson finished ranked #4, behind 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Jr Michael Beasley from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'5 Javaris Crittenton from Atlanta (Southwest Atlanta Christian) GA, by the HOOP SCOOP at the adidas Superstar All-American Camp in July.  As a matter of fact, the only thing keeping Robinson from being ranked among our top 10 seniors is consistency and not always playing hard.  But we also said the same thing about Villanueva and he ended up being the #7 pick in the NBA Draft last summer by the Toronto Raptors.  The addition of Robinson also moves Connecticut's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'9 Curtis Kelly from New York (Rice) NY, 6'3 Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'3 Jerome Dyson from Andover (Proctor Academy) NH, 6'6 Will Harris from Wolfeboro (Brewster (Academy) NH, and 6'11 Jonathan Mandeldove from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, back up to #2 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if they hadn't lost out on getting 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, who picked North Carolina over Connecticut, UCLA, and Georgia Tech yesterday, then we would be talking about the #1-ranked recruiting class, ahead of Ohio State, North Carolina, Louisville, and Washington, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  That's at least until Harris changes his mind and goes elsewhere.  And, if Harris' verbal commitment doesn't hold up, this wouldn't be the first time that he has bailed out on a school.  If you will recall, Harris verbally committed to Nebraska a year ago, but later reneged.  Harris also is now attending his 4th high school/prep school, as he started his career at Middle Village (Christ the King) NY and later attended Troy (Redemption) NY and Pittsfield (Maine Central Institute) ME before ending up this year at Wolfeboro (Brewster Academy) NH.  Getting back to Robinson, Connecticut's gain is Alabama's loss and actually we've shocked at the fact that Robinson got away from the Crimson Tide.  However, maybe we shouldn't be, because in recent years Alabama has not been able to lock up all the top players in the state.  If you will recall, the Crimson Tide have gotten their fair share, including 6'8 Richard Hendrix from Athens (H.S.) AL, 6'2 Ronald Steele from Birmingham (Parker) AL, 6'7 Kennedy Winston from Prichard (Blount) AL, 6'4 Glenn Miles from Birmingham (West End) AL, and 6'8 Charles Davis from Selma (Southside) AL.  But just think what might have been if Mark Gottfried and his staff also had been able to keep 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'9 D.J. White from Tuscaloosa (Hillcrest) AL, 6'8 Mike Williams from Camden (Wilcox Central) AL, and/or 6'10 Walter Sharp from Birmingham (Parker) AL at home.  Naclerio also confirms that 6'9 Derrick Caracter has transferred from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA and Kevin Boyle's loss is Bill Barton's gain (Boyle is the head coach St. Patrick and Barton is the head coach Notre Dame), as this is potential Bartton's best team ever.  Did you know that Caracter will join 6'4 Paul Harris, 6'4 Lazar Heyward, 6'9 Mike Davis, and 5'10 Vic Morris?  Naclerio also tells us that the top three for 6'4 Daya Kaba from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, who is ranked #124 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP,  are Boston College, Old Dominion, and Southern Cal and our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Brian Morris from Camp Hill (Trinity) PA has verbally committed to the University of Richmond and 6'9 Andrew Jones from Jenkintown (Abington Friends) PA has verbally committed to Penn State.  And, in both cases, Rubin thinks these are excellent catches, as he will have Morris ranked #14 and Jenkins ranked #18 when we publish his updated Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Report early next week.  Morris also has excellent skills and is versatile enough to play both wing positions, which means he's ideally suited for the structured system that new head coach Chris Mooney is sure to use at Richmond.  Morris also should be an excellent complement to 6'8 Dan Geriot from Springfield (H.S.) PA, who also recently picked the Spiders and will ranked #15 on Rubin's new list.  The value of Jones stock has dropped during the last year, but he's still got big time size and athleticism and is a good rebounder and shot blocker.  In other words, this is the type of guy we're willing to take a chance on, especially when you have two quality foreign big guys - 6'10 Frosh Milos Bogetic and 6'9 Frosh Joonas Suotamo, who should already have a year of experience under their belt by the time Jones enrolls a little less than a year from now - already in the program.  Our Tennessee Correspondent Andre Whitehead tells us that 6'8 Joseph Watkins from Memphis (Hamilton) TN has verbally committed to San Francisco and 5'11 Josh Bone from Brentwood (Academy) TN has picked Southern Illinois.  Bone lacks the size and strength physically to play at the big time college level, but he's a nice catch for the Salukis, because he's got good point guards skills, knows how to run a team, and is an excellent 3-point shooter.  San Francisco getting Watson shows that Dons head coach Jessie Evans, who has always been on the best recruiters in the business, hasn't lost his touch.  We're talking about a 6'8 back-to-the basket guy with both strength and athleticism who is ranked #147 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.   Whitehead also informs us that 6'8 Jeremy Williams from Memphis (Hamilton) TN, who is ranked #293 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, will pick either Tennessee or Colorado tomorrow.  The smart money appears to be on the Volunteers and, if Williams does do what is expected, then you can credit Tennessee assistant coach Scott Edgar for getting this one done.  Remember, Edgar, who was a long time assistant coach at Arkansas prior to becoming the head coach Murray State and Duquesne and an assistant coach at Baylor and UAB, has always had more than his fair share of contacts in the Mid-South.  It also appears that Liberty has stolen another one in 6'8 Armon Jones from Goldsboro (Charish Prep) NC.  Not only is Jones ranked #61 on our list of the top 5th Players, but he has an Oliver Miller-like body, an excellent feel for the game, and good post-up and rebounding skills.  It also appears that 6'7 Jarrel  Smith from Van Nuys (Birmingham) CA, who is ranked #224 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, and 6'9 Jimmy Smith from Van Nuys (Birmingham) CA, who is ranked #224 nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, have both verbally committed to Colorado State. 

Tuesday, October 11, 2005

It looks like Syracuse has done it again.  We're talking about today's early verbal commitment by 6'8 Jr Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD to the Orangemen and this is huge for a number of reasons.  First, Green is ranked #35 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, which means he should be good enough to step in and make an immediate impact as a college freshman two years from now.  Second, Green hails from the same high school that originally produced Carmelo Anthony, but his game is more like that of Connecticut's Rudy Gay, as is evident by the fact that Green's perimeter skills have really improved and, as a result, he is now being projected as somebody who will be able to play either forward spot at the next level.  Third, getting Green helps keep Syracuse's strong Washington, DC/Baltimore pipeline that existed back when Troy Weaver was on the staff intact.  Fourth, Green should be the perfect complement to the recruiting class that the Syracuse already has in place for the Class of 2007.  If you will recall, the Orangemen also recently have received early verbal commitments from 6'2 Jr Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'9 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, and 6'0 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY and they already had the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.  And, when you also factor 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY and 6'6 Michael Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC into the equation and combine the players who are already verbally committed in both the Class of 2006 and the Class of 2007, one finds that the only school that has recruited as well as Syracuse to-date is Ohio State.  However, all this should not come as much of surprise, because Syracuse head coach Jim Boeheim has one of the best coaching staffs in college basketball with Mike Hopkins, Bernie Fine, and Rob Murphy and they obviously are doing a great job of building upon the NCAA Championship that they won two-and-a-half years ago.   It also came as no surprise that earlier today when North Carolina landed 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA.  But Stepheson will have to get meaner and tougher to get it done a year from now in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  But, then again, that's way Tar Heels head coach Roy Williams makes the big bucks and why he already has made five NCAA Final Four appearances and why he coaches the defending National Championship.  Stepheson does have excellent skills, mobility, and athleticism and, as a result, has the potential to be ranked a lot higher than where we currently have him ranked at #58 nationally in the senior class.  This also addition moves North Carolina's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, back up to #2, behind Ohio State and ahead of Connecticut and Louisville on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And they don't appear to be done yet, as they still are among the favorites for 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, and 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA.  And, if they get any one of the four, then North Carolina's recruiting class would move up to #1 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.   And if, by some chance the Tar Heels get two of the four just mentioned players, then we really would be talking about a "Fab Five," as Ellington is ranked #3, Wright is ranked #4, Lawson is ranked #5, Arthur is ranked #11, Young is ranked #14, Crews is ranked #15, and Graves is ranked #46 in our new Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors).  In contrast, we had the original "Fab Five," which consisted Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Ray Jackson, ranked among our top five, top five, top 10, top 20, and top 80, respectively, in 1991 and we have the top five players - 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, and 6'8 Josh Chichester from West Chester (Lakota West) OH - in Ohio State's recruiting class, which some of our competitors have been talking about being the next Fab Five, ranked #1, #22, #25, #29, and #131, respectively.  And making this distinct possibility even more amazing is the fact North Carolina is already well ahead of Duke when you combine all the recruits from the Class of 2005 and Class of 2006.  Remember, Duke had the #2-ranked recruiting class in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005 with 6'9 Josh McRoberts from Carmel (H.S.) IN, 6'2 Greg Paulus from Syracuse (Christian Brothers) NY, 6'7 Jamal Boykin from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA, 6'11 Eric Boateng from Middletown (St. Andrews) DE, and 6'4 Martiynas Pocius from Plymouth (Holderness) NH and they currently have the #6-ranked recruiting class with 6'5 Jonathan Scheyer from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 7'0 Brian Zoubek from Haddonfield (Memorial) NJ on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  In contrast, North Carolina finished tied with the #5-ranked recruiting class in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005 with 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough from Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, and 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY and, as we've already mentioned, they currently have the #2-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, if you also include 6'7 Mike Copeland from Winston-Salem (R.J. Reynolds) NC, who North Carolina picked up in August, long after we'd wrapped up last year's rankings, then the Tar Heels' recruiting class would move up to #4 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005.  And this is important, because North Carolina is now a full 10 points ahead of Duke when you combine all of the players that these two school have landed in these two recruiting classes.  However, if 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN picks Duke over North Carolina, then these two classes would be tied with 72 points apiece.  We also find interesting that North Carolina will have eight players - 6'8 Jr Reyshawn Terry, 5'11 Jr Wes Miller, 6'3 Soph Quentin Thomas, and the five freshmen mentioned above (Hansbrough, Green, Ginyard, Frasor, and Copeland) - back a year from now to go along with the five players (Ellington, Lawson, Graves, Stepheson, and Thompson) already in the fold in this recruiting class.  We know they can sign at least one more player, because Miller will become a walk-on again, if they need the scholarship.  But North Carolina head coach Roy Williams may have to make some tough decisions, if they hit the jackpot and several of the above mentioned players fall the right way.  Remember, North Carolina has a history of never running anybody off....  

Saturday, October 8, 2005, Sunday, October 9, 2005, & Monday, October 10, 2005

For a while we though Marquette was the team to beat for 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY.  Then, it looked like Virginia head coach Dave Leitao would be able to take advantage of his Mt. Vernon High School contacts and get this one done.  Remember, Leitao is the one who got Ben Gordon when he was an assistant coach at Connecticut.  However, now it appears that Mitchell is a done deal for the University of Florida.  At least, that's what our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio is telling us.  Naclerio also tells us that Mitchell, who made his verbal commitment upon returning from his official visit over the weekend, is a perfect fit for the Gators, because he's a blue collar power forward who scores inside, takes care of business on the boards, and does all the little things that help you win games, but don't show up in the box score.  Mitchell is a little bit undersized, but he's good enough to be ranked #61 nationally in our new Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors), which was published exclusively in the Members Section on Friday, October 7th.  Mitchell also should be an excellent complement to all of the other good inside players, like 6'8 Jr Chris Richard, 6'11 Soph Joakim Noah, 6'8 Soph Al Horford, 6'10 Frosh Jimmie Sutton, and 6'10 Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL - that the Gators will have in the program a year from now.  This addition moves Florida's recruiting class, which also already includes Speights and 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, up to #20 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But, even more important, this puts Florida head coach Billy Donovan and his staff in the enviable position, whereby, they can be extremely picky about who they take from here on out in both this year's and next year's recruiting classes.  By our count, Florida will have 12  players - 6'8 Soph Corey Brewer, 6'11 Soph Joakim Noah, 6'8 Soph Al Horford, and 6'0 Taurean Green, 6'10 Frosh Jimmie Sutton, 6'0 Frosh Walter Hodge, and 6'5 Frosh David Huertas, 6'10 Marreese Speights from St. Petersburg (Admiral Farragut) FL, 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'4 Brandon Powell from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'4 Jr Gary Clark from Sarasota (Booker) FL, and 6'4 Jr Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL - on scholarship two years from now, which means they have only one more scholarship available  for both this year's next year's recruiting classes.  Naclerio also tells us that there apparently is a big controversy brewing over the fact that 6'9 Derrick Caracater appears to be on the verge of transferring from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  And this isn't the first time that Caracater has left Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  If you will recall, Caracter transferred from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ to Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ after having to sit out the latter half of his freshman year.  However, this time around, Caracter's absence may cost St. Patrick a #1 pre-season ranking and a chance to win a National Championship.  This also means that Caracter will have changed high schools every year of his high school career, as he was a freshman at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, a sophomore at Scotch Plains (H.S.) NJ, a junior at Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ, and now appears to be heading to Fitchburg (Notre Dame) MA.  In other words, with a track record like this, it wouldn't be a surprise if Caracater goes to Louisville and only spends one year before jumping into the NBA.  So, with this in mind, don't be surprised if Cardinal head coach Rick Pitino brings Caracter along at the same speed that he brought Antonie Walker and Ron Mercer, neither of whom started, along when they where freshmen at the University of Kentucky.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Obi Muonelo from Santa Fe (Edmund) OK has verbally committed to Oklahoma State and he should be an excellent complement to all the outstanding new players that the Cowboys landed in last years' recruiting class, which was ranked  #1 in our Final Ranking of the Top Recruiting Classes for the Class of 2005 and included 6'8 Torre Johnson from Garden City (JC) KS, 6'8 Keith Brumbaugh from Deland (H.S.) FL, 6'0 Jamaal Brown from Southern Idaho (JC) ID, 6'0 Byron Eaton from Dallas (Lincoln) TX, 6'8 Mario Boggan from Chipola (JC) FL, 6'5 Terrell Harris from Garland (South Garland) TX, 6'6 Roderick Fleming from DeSoto (H.S.) TX, and 6'11 Kenneth Cooper from Monroe (Richwood) LA.  As a matter of fact, Muonelo, who is ranked #34 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is one of our favorite players, because he not only has big time athleticism and excellent skills, but he also is a model of consistency, as he never seems to have a bad game.  And how about the University of California getting 5'10 Jerome Randall from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL?  Sure, Randall is small, but he knows how to run a team, has jet-like speed and quickness, makes excellent decisions, and has terrific ball handling and passing skills.  Randall also is a winner, which helps explain why we have him ranked #100 nationally in the senior class.  The addition of Randall moves the Golden Bears' recruiting class up to #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But, even more important, we think Randall not only will push 6'3 Jr Ayinde Ubaka for playing time at the point guard spot a year from, but also in the future will provide the glue necessary to make everybody else on the team better.  It also appears that sometime within the last week 6'7 Phil Nelson from Salem (McNary) OR, who is ranked #99 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, verbally committed to the University of Washington.  We're talking about one of the best 3-point shooters in the nation, which means Nelson is ideally suited to complement 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who is second to non an athlete and a slasher, but needs to continue to improve his outside shooting.  The addition of Nelson also means that Huskies are probably done recruiting this year, because, as things stand now, they have two sophomores - 6'2 Soph Ryan Abbleby and 6'4 Soph 6'4 Joel Smith - and six freshmen - 6'7 Frosh Jon Brockman, 6'0 Frosh Justin Dentmon, 6'5 Frosh Harvey Perry, 6'8 Frosh Zach Johnson, 7'0 Frosh Joe Wolfinger, and 6'8 Frosh Artem Wallace - already in the program and five players - 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'7 Phil Nelson from Salem (McNary) OR, 6'6 Roburt Sallie from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC, and 6'3 Adrian Oliver from Modesto (Christian) CA - from this year's recruiting class already in the fold.  We also continue get reports about 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA being close to make a verbal commitment and right now the smart money appears to be on North Carolina.  And, assuming that Stepheson does pick the Tar Heels over UCLA, Connecticut, and Georgia Tech, this would move North Carolina's recruiting class, which also includes 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, back up to #2 on our of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, just as important, the addition of Stepheson would mean that North Carolina will have at least two inside players in this year's recruiting class.  Remember, the Tar Heels currently have only one quality inside player in the program and 6'9 Frosh Tyler Hansbrough probably won't be around more than a year or two.  And, if Stepheson does pick the Tar Heels, that would mean that only 18 of the HOOP SCOOP's top 100 seniors will be left on the board.  Our Texas Editor Tim Miller believes that Oklahoma may now be the leader for 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, who is ranked #60 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, and it appears that the University of Kansas could be on the verge of making some things happen, as 6'10 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'11 Jr Cole Aldrich from Bloomington (Jefferson) MN, 6'5 Jr Lance Storrs from Decatur (Columbia) GA, and 6'3 Soph Travis Releford from Kansas City (Central) MO all will be in Lawrence, KS this weekend for the Jayhawks version of Midnight Madness.  We also have confirmed that 6'5 Arturs Papans from Broward (JC) FL has verbally committed to the University of Hartford and this is a big catch for the Hawks, because he's tremendous 3-point shooter.  Combine that with the fact that Papans, who originally is from Lithuania, is very athletic and is tough hardnosed competitor and it's obvious that Papans has picked up on the American game very quickly and, as a result, is ready to step in and be one of the better players right away at Hartford.  Obviously the connection here is Hartford Associate Head Coach Lonnie Williams, who was an assistant coach Florida International from 2000 to 2003 and, as a result, has more than his share of contacts in the state.  We also have confirmed that 6'4 Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA, who is ranked #134 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Virginia.  And, this comes as no surprise, especially after we told you a week ago that he had a great visit to Virginia and that Davis thought Tat was on the verge of making a verbal commitment to the Cavaliers.  We also think this is an excellent catch, because Tat is a strong physical athlete who can play either guard spot.  However, we like Tat better at the 2-guard spot, because he tends to think too much about running the team when he's playing the point. 

Friday, October 7, 2005

We've been working on our updated Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors) for over a month now and we're finally ready to post exclusively in the Members Section what has to be the most comprehensive national player list ever published.  And, if you don't believe it, try finding a list of the top seniors nationally that includes almost 1000 names ranked in numerical order anywhere else.  To be exact, our list features the top 970 seniors, along with each player's height, class, position, hometown, high school, state and college, if he has already verbally committed to a four-year school.  However, with the Fall Signing Period, which begins on Wednesday, November 9th, still just a little over a month away, it's easier to tell you who's left when we start looking at the top 100-ranked seniors.  As things now, that list includes 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'9 Stanley Robinson from Birmingham (Huffman) AL, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA, 6'8 Lance Thomas from Newark (St. Benedict's) NJ, 5'11 Sherron Collins from Chicago (Crane) IL, 6'0 Darryl Augustine from Sugar Land (Hightower) TX, 6'5 Obi Muonelo from Edmund (Santa Fe) OK, 6' Tre'Von Willis from Fresno (Washington Union) CA, 6'9 Perry Stevenson from Lafayette (Northside) LA, 6'10 Dexter Pittman from Rosenberg (Terry) TX, 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, 6'2 Donald Sloan from Dallas (Seogoville) TX, 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt. Vernon (H.S.) NY, 6'9 Bryan Davis from Grand Prairie (H.S.) TX, 7'0 Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, 6'5 Earl Pettis from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, 6'4 Adrion Graves from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, 7'2 Jason Bennett from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, 6'6 An'Juan Wilderness from Dunwoody (H.S.) GA, 6'11 Hamady Ndiaye from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, and 5'10 Jerome Randall from Chicago (Hales Franciscan) IL.  Yes, only 23 of our top 100-ranked seniors are still on the board and, just like we always do, when each one of these players verbally commits, we will add their name to our list of Recent Commitments and our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And this is another thing that separates us from the rest of our competition, as on any given day, we can tell you exactly where each school stands in the race of the top recruiting classes in the college basketball.  Right now that honor belongs to Ohio State, but it's still conceivable that North Carolina could catch the Buckeyes, if the Tar Heels land several of more of the top players in the nation - i.e. 6'10 Brandan Wright from Brentwood (Academy) TN, 6'9 Durrell Arthur from Dallas (South Oak Cliff) TX, 6'8 Thaddeus Young from Memphis (Mitchell) TN, 6'6 Willard "Duke" Crews from Hampton (Bethel) VA.  Yes, it looks like North Carolina is one of the teams to beat for four or the top five players who are still available and, if they happen to beat Duke and Kentucky for Wright, they will have three of our top five-ranked seniors in the same recruiting class.  And this is unprecedented since we started the HOOP SCOOP in 1983.  A quick review of our archives, which you can do as well by clicking on National Player Rankings, shows North Carolina currently with 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, Michigan State with Zach Randolph and Marcus Taylor in 2000, Kentucky with Keith Bogans and Marvin Stone in 1999, St. John's with Felipe Lopez and Zendon Hamilton in 1994, North Carolina with Rasheed Wallace and Jerry Stackhouse in 1993, LSU with Randy Livingston and Ronnie Henderson in 1993, Michigan with Chris Webber and Juwon Howard in 1991, North Carolina with Eric Montross and Clifford Rozier in 1990, Kentucky with Eric Manual and LeRon Ellis in 1987, North Carolina with J.R. Reid and Scott Williams in 1986, Michigan with Terry Mills and Rumeal Robinson in 1986, and Kentucky with James Blackmon and Winston Bennett in 1983 all have landed two top five-ranked seniors nationally in the same year.  However, nobody has landed three top five players in the same recruiting class up until possibly now.  And, if the Tar Heels pull this off, we really would be talking about another Fab Five, plus one or two more players who are ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally, as 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC and 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) NC check in at #46 and #82, respectively, in our Ranking of the Top 970 Players in the Class of 2006 (Seniors).  We also find it interesting that this is the fourth time North Carolina has accomplished this feat in the last 23 years.  Kentucky has done it three times, Michigan has done it twice, and Michigan State, St. John's, and LSU have all done it once. 

Thursday, October 6, 2005

This past weekend our Florida correspondents Rick Staudt and Jim Clark took in the annual Battle of the Rankings camp, presented by BreakdownMagazine.com and the standout in the Class of 2006 was Josue Soto, a Florida State recruit, from Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  He got to the basket, finished at will, and continued to score like he did at the NIKE Peach Jam in July.  7’0 Jason Bennet, also of Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL, was named the 2006 All-Star game MVP, as he blocked a bunch of shots and scored over smaller players inside.  Princeton Curry, a 6’4 University of South Florida recruit from Poinciana High School in Kissimmee, FL, played both the one and the two equally well, as he is a good passer and consistent 3-point shooter.   Jonathan Hall, a 6’4 wing guard from Miami (Northwestern) FL, continues to exhibit a solid shot from beyond the arc and an ability to finish in traffic.  5'10 London Warren of Jacksonville (Raines) FL may be the most difficult player in the state to guard with the ball, as he gets to the rim at will, but doesn’t always finish.  Warren's shot has been inconsistent in the past, but it was dropping this weekend.  Some of the breakout players from the Class of 2006 were 6'0 Roy Brunn from Homestead (South Dade) FL, who has good court vision, athleticism, and is a defensive demon; 6’4 Lashawn Baker from New Smyrna Beach (H.S.) FL, who runs the floor well and can hit from three, but needs to upgrade is ball-handling; 6’7 Keyon Carter from Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL, who is an excellent athlete and very effective around the rim; 6'6 Tuboris Larkins from Palm Beach Gardens (Dwyer) FL, who hit some threes and was effective on the glass, but must develop an in-between game; 6’4 combo guard John Pietiewicz of Winter Park (H.S) FL, who has elevated his point guard skills and can still shoot with the best from downtown; 6’6 wide-body Jordan Prais from Lakeland (H.S.) FL, who is limited athletically, but is very effective inside; and Jarvis Williams from Orlando (Jones) FL, who plays much bigger than his 6’4 height, as he continually grabs offensive rebounds and scores over bigger foes.  The Class of 2007 was also well represented.  The standout for this class was 6’5 Jr guard/forward Nick Calathes from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, who committed to the University of Florida in the spring.  He has an incredibly high basketball IQ and skill level.  Without a doubt he is one of the best passers in high school basketball regardless of class.  Edward London, a 6’3 Jr guard from Fort Lauderdale (Dillard) FL, was named the 2007 All-Star game MVP, as he knocked down a trio of 3-pointers and finished off his drives.  Highly regarded Edwin Rios, a 6’0 Jr guard from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, is still nursing an ankle injury.  But, even at less than 100%, he is a scoring threat from anywhere on the court.  When healthy, Rios is the best player in the class.  5’10 Jr point guard Joey Rodriguez, also of Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL, was very aggressive on defense and with the ball, as he regularly finished in the lane over taller foes.  Explosive 6’8 Jr AJ Stewart of Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL rejected as many shots as he dunked, which was quite a lot.  7’0 Jr Solomon Alibi of Montverde (Academy) FL played very well, as he showed quick moves in the post and blocked shots with authority.  The Class of 2007 also had it's fair share of players step up and get noticed.  6’6 Jr Adam Allen of Milton (H.S.) FL hit shots from 15 feet and in and showed the ability to get the ball of the glass and bring it down court to start the break.  Isiah Brown, a 6’8 Jr forward from Homestead (South Miami) FL is athletic, skilled, and has a nose for the ball.  6’7 Jr Adam Grimm is much more athletic than he appears and does a good job of blocking shots and gathering rebounds.  Andres Irarrazabel, a 6’7 Jr power player from Miami (Sagemont) FL has solid skills in the post, is a good passer, and can hit from 15 feet.  6’6 Jr Jermaine Johnson of Fort Lauderdale (St. Thomas Aquinas) FL has a big body that he uses well in the post to score over taller defenders.  Devon Lamb, a 6’3 Jr combo guard out of Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL was consistent in stroking the three and finishing inside.  6’2 Jr guard Jared Mabry has an all-around offensive game, whether it was passing to the open man, finishing drives, or hitting the jumper from mid-range and beyond.  Jean Micheal Yotio, a 6’9 Jr power player from Montverde (Academy) FL, is strong, athletic, and reasonable skilled.  If he develops a mean streak, Yotio will shoot up the charts.  The Class of 2008 made its state-wide debut this weekend.  6’9 Soph Eloy Vargas, who played so well for Team Breakdown in Las Vegas, NV in July, continued to play well this weekend.  He probably has the most potential in the class, as he already is an excellent shooter and just needs to get stronger and more confident with the dribble to be an elite player.  Brett Chance, a 6’2 Soph guard from Winter Park (Lake Howell) FL was named MVP of the 2008 All-Star game.  He plays at a high speed, but is always under control.  He knocked down shots from behind the arc, finished drives in the lane, has quick feet, and is aggressive on defense.  6’1 Soph Miguel Paul of Lakeland (Kathleen) FL showed advanced offensive skill making all kinds of shots and passes.  Zack Bailey, a 6’1 Soph guard from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, is a lethal driver and jump shooter.  6’4 Soph Ameer Brown of Tallahassee (Pope John Paul II) FL was sensational in the class all-star game, knocking down contested threes and scoring on slashes to the hoop.  Athletic Akeem Dunham, a 6’2 Soph guard from Eustis (H.S.) FL, displayed a nice perimeter game, as he effectively mixed drives and jumpers off the dribble.  6’8 Soph Adam Pegg is the best post player in the class right now.  He has good footwork and rebounds well, but he must remember not to stray too far from the paint.  Bo Reliford, a 6’6 Soph forward from Hollywood (Chaminade) FL, is effective inside due to his athleticism and quickness but is starting to show signs of being able to move to the wing as he finished a couple of quick drives to the hoop.  While it is early for the Class of 2009, two names to remember are 6’2 Frosh Ken Boynton from Pompano Beach (Ely) FL and 6’4 Frosh Emari Bailey of Jacksonville (Arlington Country Day) FL.  Boynton is one of the top players nationally, as there is nothing he can not do on the court.  Bailey is a long athlete with a consistent 3-point shot and loads of potential.

The verbal commitments continue to keep just rolling in and right at the top of today's list is 6'9 Jamil Tucker from Gary (West Side) IN, who is ranked #93 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  And Tucker could be ranked a lot higher, if he plays like he did when we saw him lead the SYF Players to a second place finish at the NIKE Peach Jam in July.  However, more often than not over his career, Tucker has not lived up to expectations, as he ironically doesn't have the toughness and killer mentality that most players have from the Northwest Region in Indiana.  Instead, Tucker, who is a big time athlete and is just oozing with potential, would rather hang out on the perimeter and shoot 3-pointers.  So, obviously he would be a perfect complement to 6'7 Jonathan Mitchell from Mt.  Vernon (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #56 nationally in the senior class and has the Cavaliers right at the top of his list, along with Marquette and Florida.  It also comes as no surprise 6'2 Justin Tubbs from Birmingham (Hewitt Trussville) AL has verbally committed to the University of Alabama.  After all, the Alabama is the state school and it is located right up the road.  However, suddenly South Carolina, which had been recruiting Tubbs for a long time, is out of luck similar to the way Alabama was when 6'4 Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA picked the Kentucky earlier this week.  If you will recall, the Alabama coaching staff had not only made Meeks one of their top recruiting priorities for the last year-and-a-half, but lost out when the Wildcats decided to get involved several weeks ago.  We also have confirmed that 6'3 Patrick Bevery from Chicago (Marshall) IL has verbally committed to Toledo; 6'6 Ernest Fields from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN and 6'2 Wesley Channels from Memphis (Ridgeway) TN have both verbally committed to Austin Peay; 6'8 Justin Brock from Liberty (H.S.) IL and 6'3 Kijuane Leach from Chicago (Phillips) IL have both verbally committed to Eastern Illinois; 6'0 Matt Shamis from Northbrook (Glenbrook North) IL has verbally committed to Lehigh; 6'8 Lorenzo Ecford from Kennedy-King (JC) IL has verbally committed to Idaho; and 6'5 Casey Harriman from Ida Grove (Battle Creek-Ida  Grove) IA has verbally committed to Creighton.  We also have gotten a report that 6'2 Robert McKiver from San Jacinto (JC) IL has verbally committed to the University of Houston.  However, that's unconfirmed right now.  But, if this turns out to be true, this big time athlete, who originally signed with Providence when he was a 5th Year Player at Winchendon (School) MA, would be an excellent catch of the Cougars.  We also were interested in the email that we received today from Jeffrey A. Hood, who is the Tournament Director of the Dell Curry-Bojangles' High School Hoop's Tournament, telling us that this year's field is complete and that the tournament will once again be held at Charlotte Latin's School's "Beck Student Activities Center in Charlotte, NC on December 29th-31st.  The eight-team National Boys Tournament will include Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, Laurinburg (Institute) NC, Charlotte (Gaston Day School) NC, Statesville (Christian) NC, Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, Norcross (H.S.) GA, and Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA and will feature players like 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'5 Gerald Henderson from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'8 Jr Gani Lawal from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'4 Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'7 Shamari Spears from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'5 Doneal Mack from Statesville (Christian) NC, 6'4 Jr Antoine Watson from Laurinburg (Institute) NC, 6'4 Daya Kaba from Centereach (Our Savior New American) NY, 6'7 Wellington Smith from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, 6'3 Brandis Raley from Charlotte (Gaston Day School) NC, 6'6 Kris Douse from Laurinburg (Institute) NC,6'2 Brett Butler from Norcross (H.S.) GA, 6'8 Matt Parker from Statesville (Christian) NC, 6'10 Stephen Hess from Charlotte (Gaston Day School) NC, 6'8 Manteas Loenaviscius from Statesville (Christian) NC, 6'3 Jamal Jackson from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'0 Kevin White from from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, 6'5 Kashief Carr from from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA, and 6'4 Amir Ali from from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA.  The eight-team Local Boys Tournament also should be pretty good, as the list of teams includes Charlotte (West Charlotte) NC, Charlotte (Charlotte Christian) NC, Charlotte (Victory Christian) NC, Suwanee (Collins Hill) NC, Charlotte (Butler) NC, Charlotte (Providence) NC, Charlotte (Providence Day) NC, and Charlotte (Latin) NC and some of the top players will include 6'5 Charles Dewhurst from Charlotte (Latin) NC, 6'1 Stephen Curry from Charlotte (Christian) NC, 6'5 Wesley Telfare from Suwanee (Collins Hill) GA, 6'8 Vince Jacobs from Charlotte (Providence Day School) NC, and 5'9 Jeremy Goode from Charlotte (Providence Day School) NC.

Wednesday, October 5, 2005

We have confirmed that 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, who will be ranked #9 nationally in the senior class when we publish our updated rankings of the top players in the Class of 2006 later this week, did indeed pick the University of Washington over North Carolina yesterday.  And this huge for the Huskies, because it firmly establishes the fact that last year was no fluke when Lorenzo Romar and his staff kept two of the top high school players - 6'7 Martell Webster from Seattle (Prep) WA and 6'7 Jon Brockman from Snohomish (H.S.) WA, who finished ranked #1 and #12, respectively, in our Final Ranking of the Top Players in the Class of 2005 - right in his own backyard at home.  It's also important, because Hawes is one of the most skilled big men to come the pike in a long time and, as a result, is ideally suited to complement Brockman and 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, who also is apart of the current recruiting class and should be the a perfect replacement for Webster, who opted to by-pass college and enter the NBA Draft last spring.  The addition of Hawes also moves Washington's recruiting class, which also already includes Pondexter, 6'6 Roburt Sallie from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC, and 6'3 Adrian Oliver from Modesto (Christian) CA, up to #5, behind Ohio State Louisville, Connecticut, and North Carolina and ahead of Duke, Oklahoma, Georgetown, Villanova, Arizona, Wake Forest, Stanford, and Memphis, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  But, even more important, is the fact that only a handful of programs in college basketball (Duke, North Carolina, Louisville, Connecticut, and Memphis) have recruited any better than the Huskies when you combine the recruits from the Class of 2005 and Class of 2006 together and only two programs - North Carolina with 6'9 Tyler Hansbrough form Poplar Bluff (H.S.) MO, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, and 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA and Ohio State with 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN, and 6'5 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH - have landed three better players than Webster, Brockman, and Hawes.  And, despite the fact that Webster never enrolled in school, you can bet the fact that Webster and Hawes were teammates a year ago at Seattle (Prep) WA only enhanced the Huskies chances of getting Hawes this time around.  It also appears that Hawes' verbal commitment to the Huskies has gotten other dominos to start falling.  Obviously we're talking about today's verbal commitment to North Carolina by 6'8 Deon Thompson from Torrance (H.S.) CA, who is ranked #84 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  This comes as somewhat of a surprise, because the word of Southern California in recent weeks was the Thompson was close to verbally committing to UCLA.  However, it looks like the North Carolina coaching staff turned up the heat on Thompson and got this one done after Hawes picked the Huskies.  So, with Thompson heading to Chapel Hill, NC, it would appear to be safe to assume that 6'9 Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, who we currently have ranked #53 nationally in the senior class, will likely pick the Bruins, especially in light of the fact that Stepheson visited UCLA earlier this week.  But there are those out there who think that North Carolina also may be able to get Stepheson to turn down UCLA and, instead follow in the footsteps of Thompson to North Carolina.  Remember, North Carolina needs all the inside help it can find, as all of the highly touted players, except for Hansbrough, and Thompson, in this last year's and this year's recruiting classes are perimeter players - i.e. 6'6 Danny Green from Manhasset (St. Mary's) NY, 6'5 Marcus Ginyard from Arlington (Bishop O'Connell) VA, 6'3 Bobby Frasor from Chicago (Brother Rice) IL, 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC.  And, while this will help fill an immediate need for the Tar Heels, we're not sure that it would be that big of a loss for UCLA, if Stepheson snubbed the Bruins and picked the Tar Heels.  As a matter of fact, we liked the two inside players - 6'9 Ryan Wright from Mississauga (Loyola Catholic) ON and 6'8 Alfred Aboya from Tilton (School) NH - that UCLA landed a year ago better than Stepheson and Thompson at the stage.  Stepheson does probably have more upside than either of the two, but he also needs to develop a killer mentality and become more consistent in order to live up to his potential.  So, with Wright, Aboya, 6'8 Soph Lorenzo Mata, and 6'9 James Keefe from Rancho Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita) CA already expected to be vying for playing time inside a year from now, Stepheson would provide even more value depth and insurance in case somebody gets hurt.  But he would not be a key piece the puzzle right away.  Instead, one of the last pieces to the puzzle in order for UCLA to become a perennial top 10 team in college basketball would be to land an elite player who can step in immediately and totally dominate inside.  And now you know why UCLA's top recruiting priority in the junior class nationally is 6'8 Jr Kevin Love from Lake Oswego (H.S.) OR, who is ranked #4 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP and has been described as a "white Wes Unseld."  As a matter of fact, Love is such an important target for the Bruins that UCLA head coach Ben Howland is handling most of Love's recruitment himself.  Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that Temple has gotten verbal commitments from 6'2 Luis Guzman from Paramus (Catholic) NJ and 6'7 Mike Scott from Chesapeake (Deep Creek) VA.  Guzman is a scoring point guard who can run a team, plays excellent defense, and can beat you with either his ability to penetrate and dish or his outside shooting.  Scott is a diamond-in-the-rough.  He's also young for his grade and is a face-up four-man with 17-foot range, the ability to put the ball on the floor, slash to the basket, and rebound, as is evident by the fact that he averaged 21 ppg and 12 rpg a year ago.  Rubin also tells us that it appears to be only a matter of time before 6'8 Matt Shaw from Los Angeles (Fairfax) CA commits to the Owls and, as usual, the guy who deserves most of the credit for getting all of this done is Temple assistant coach Dan Leibovitz, who has been the point man on the Owls recruiting in recent years.  We also have confirmed that Hofstra has landed 6'8 Manteas Loenaviscius from Statesville (Christian) NC and he should fit in perfectly with 6'11 Greg Washington from Winchendon (School) MA, 5'11 Vic Morris from Bayside (Cardozo) NY, 6'2 Sal Patricio from Port Charlotte (Florida Prep) FL, and 6'8 Dane Johnson from Brooklyn (Paul Robeson) NY, all of whom also are apart of the Pride's recruiting class, because Loenaviscius has size and can shoot the lights out.  Speaking of Hofstra's recruiting class, which is now ranked #22 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, did you know that this is the highest ranked recruiting class by a school not in one of the top seven conferences (ACC, Big East, Big-10, Big-12, Pac-10, SEC, and Conference USA) in college basketball?  We also understand that 6'7 JeJuan Brown from Biloxi (H.S.) MS has verbally committed to Vanderbilt, which means the Commodores now have two players ranked among our top 100 seniors nationally in the fold.  If you will recall, several weeks ago 6'4 Jermaine Beal from De Soto (H.S.) TX also verbally committed to Vanderbilt.  Brown is best described as an undersized power forward, but he was one of our favorite players during the spring and summer, because he's a tenacious rebounder, tremendous competitor, and big time athlete who gets it done around the basket.  Our North Carolina/South Carolina Editor Brian Clifton catches up on some verbal commitments that have happened in his area, including 6'5 Charles Dewhurst from Charlotte (Latin) NC has verbally committed to Charlotte, 6'8 Matt Parker from Statesville (Christian) NC has verbally committed to James Madison, 5'11 DeShawn Griffin from Goldsboro (Charish Prep) NC has verbally committed to Iona, and 6'8 Jack Robinson from Canton (Pasgah) NC has verbally committed to Western Carolina.  We also find it interesting that 6'10 Michael Washington, who is originally from McGehee (H.S.) AR and was at Cleveland (Heritage Christian) TX, has transferred to Mendenhall (Genisis I) MS.  Washington is still verbally committed to Arkansas. 

Tuesday, October 4, 2005

Our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson tells us that 6'10 Hernol Hall from Lon Morris (JC) TX, 6'6 Antonio Dimaria from Pittsburgh (Bishop Canevin) PA and 6'1 Steve McNeese from New Castle (Shenango) PA all have verbally committed to Duquesne within the last week.  Dimaria was one of the best 3-point shooters at the Reebok ABCD Camp and McNeese is a crafty point guard who established his reputation this playing for the Pittsburgh Jots club team.  But Hall is the big prize here, because we're talking about a more skilled version of former LSU center Jamie Lloreda.  He also is ranked as a 4th Team Junior College All-American by Street & Smith 2005-2006 College Basketball Yearbook.  However, even that doesn't illustrate just how good Hall is.  It's a classic illustration of out of sight out of mind, as Hall returned home to Costa Rico this summer, instead of attending the top junior college camps that are run by people like Rick Ball and Jerry Mullen.  But, if Hall had participated on the circuit this summer, there are those out there who think he would be the #1-ranked junior college player in the nation.  He also might not being going to Duquesne, because everybody at the high major level who is in search of an athletic big man would be knocking down his door and, as a result, the Dukes may not have landed what appears to be one of the biggest recruiting coups of the entire fall.  So suddenly Duquesne's recruiting class moves up to #29 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, even more important, they not only have the second best recruiting class in the league, behind St. Joseph's and ahead of Charlotte, Rhode Island, and Dayton, but also will go to war a year from now with a 6'10 center who projects as one of the best players in the league.  We also have learned via Reggie Tisdale of Indiana Basketball News that 6'3 Soph Walter Offutt from Indianapolis (Warren Central) IN, who is ranked #8 in the sophomore class nationally by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Ohio State.  "When you get Greg Oden, it looks like everybody else wants to follow," says Tisdale.  "But you also have to give the Ohio State coaching staff a lot of credit, because Offutt, becomes the fourth player from Indiana that the Buckeyes have landed since Thad Matta took over a-year-and-a-half ago."  The first Indiana kid that he got was 6'2 Sylvester Mays, who originally is from Ft. Wayne (Wayne) IN, but played two years in junior college at Redlands (JC) OK.  Then, they landed 7'0 Greg Oden from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN and 6'1 Michael Conley from Indianapolis (Lawrence North) IN in this year's recruiting class and Offutt will count towards Ohio State's recruiting class two years from now.  Speaking of Class of 2008, did you know that the Buckeyes also have an early verbal commitment from 6'10 Soph B.J. Mullens from Canal Winchester (World Harvest Christian) OH, who is one of the top five players in the sophomore class nationally?  So suddenly the Buckeyes not only clearly have the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006, but they also are way out in front of USC, Tennessee, Louisville, and Mississippi, which are the only schools that even have early verbal commitments from players in the Class of 2008.  And, with 6'4 Daequan Cook from Dayton (Dunbar) OH, 6'5 David Lighty from Cleveland (St. Joseph) OH, and 6'8 Josh Chichester from West Chester (Lakota West) OH also already in the fold and a strong possibility that they will also get 6'9 Jr Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH, 7'1 Jr Kosta Koufas from North Canton (H.S.) OH, 6'9 Soph Yancy Gates from Cincinnati (Hughes) OH, it's obvious that the Buckeyes are cleaning up in not one, but two states when it comes to recruiting.  And in neither case is this a surprise.  Remember, Ohio State is the state school around which everything in Ohio revolves and, prior to moving onto Xavier and Ohio State, Matta was the head coach at Butler, which explains why the Buckeyes have such a strong recruiting presence in Indianapolis, IN.  Getting back to Offutt, Tisdale compares his game to former Indiana University All-American Greg Graham's game at the same stage.  "They both are explosive athletes, both are great defenders, and both have an excellent pull-up jumper," says Tisdale.  "But whether Offutt will develop the 22-foot shooting range that Graham did in college remains to be seen.  Offutt also will be out until January with a torn ACL, which means his progress has been slowed.  But, if Ohio State is accepting a verbal commitment from him, the must be pretty confident that he's going to fully recover."  And making the Graham/Offutt comparison even more ironic is the fact that they both attended the same high school (Warren Central) IN and I got a chance to see both players for the first time when they were in 8th Grade.  Mike Waters of the Syracuse Post-Standard tells us that 6'8 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, who is ranked #59 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, has verbally committed to Syracuse.  And, with this verbal commitment, it looks like the Orangemen are off the races in terms of recruiting in the Class of 2007, as they now have the #1-ranked recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2007.   If you will recall, a week ago 6'2 Jr Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA, who is ranked #36 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, also made an early verbal commitment to Syracuse and Waters tells us that we should also count 6'0 Jr Johnny Flynn from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY, who is ranked #56 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, with this recruiting class.  Remember, it was widely reported in late July that both Flynn and 6'4 Paul Harris from Niagara Falls (H.S.) NY would verbally commit to Syracuse.  And Harris did indeed have a press conference in August to announce his decision.  However, no public announcement has ever been forthcoming by Flynn.  So up until now he's remained on the board.  And the the Orangemen aren't doing too bad with the Class of 2006, as their recruiting class is ranked #18 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006 and includes our #1-ranked 5th Year Player (Harris) and 6'6 Michael Jones from Columbia (Lower Richland) SC, who is a legitimate top 100 senior nationally.  And the best may be yet to come, because the Orangemen also are believed to be among the favorites for 6'7 Jr Taylor King from Santa Ana (Mater Dei) CA, 6'0 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'8 Jr Donte Green from Towson (Catholic) MD, 6'8 Jr Alex Tyus from Cincinnati (Harmony Christian) OH, 6'5 Jr Austin Freeman from Hyattsville (DeMatha) MD, 6'5 Jr Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, and 6'9 Jr Dallas Lauderdale from Solon (H.S.) OH. 

Our Philadelphia/Eastern Pennsylvania/South Jersey Editor Allen Rubin tells us that 6'5 Ryan Thompson from Medford (Lenape) NJ appears to be following his older brother's footsteps and has verbally committed to Rider and our New York City Editor Ron Naclerio tells us that 6'3 James Feldeine from Bronx (Cardinal Hayes) NY has picked Quinnipiac over schools like New Hampshire, Canisius, Stony Brook, St. Peter's, Boston University and Long Island.  Rubin also notes that Georgia Tech, Virginia, and Villanova are the top three for 6'4 Jr Jeff Jones from Drexel Hill (Monsignor Bonnor) PA, who is the #2-ranked junior in his area, behind 6'2 Jr Antonio "Scoop" Jardine from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA and ahead of 6'8 Jr Rich Jackson from Philadelphia (St. John Neumann) PA.  However, Rubin does not have the scoop on 6'7 Shane Clark from Chatham (Hargrave Military) VA, who is expected to enroll at Villanova at the semester break.  In other words, Rubin can't tell us if Clark is currently at a prep school and/or whether he will be eligible to play right away once he does enroll or whether he will have to sit out the entire year.  Rubin does confirm that 6'5 Devan Bawinkel from Winnebago (H.S.) IL, 6'6 DeSean Butler from Bloomfield (Tech) NJ 6'8 Jacob Green from Washington (Gonzaga) DC, and 6'7 Cameron Thoroughman from Portsmouth (Clay) OH have all recently picked West Virginia.  And when you add these four players to the two players - 6'7 Wellington Smith from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ and 6'2 Joe Mazzulla from Warwick (Bishop Hendricken) RI - that the Mountaineers already had in the fold, it's clear that all of the hard work that West Virginia head coach John Beilein did this summer on the recruiting trail has paid off.  As a matter of fact, these four additions move West Virginia's recruiting class up to #14 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  That's the good news!  The bad news is that Louisville, Connecticut, Georgetown, and Villanova, whose recruiting classes are currently ranked #2, #3, #7, and #8, respectively, are among those still ranked ahead of the Mountaineers recruiting class on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  And, when you also remember what Syracuse is doing, it's clear that West Virginia still needs a great player or two in order to close the gap between themselves and the top teams in the league.  We also have confirmed that 6'11 Karolis Petrukonis from Norfolk (Collegiate) VA, who is one of the biggest sleepers in the nation, has verbally committed to Clemson.  Did you know that Petrukonis scored 22 points and grabbed nine rebounds against the United States Team in the NIKE Junior World Championship in Douai, France in June.  And that's saying a lot, because the United States team featured 6'0 Jr Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, Connecticut's 6'9 Rudy Gay, Oregon's 6'7 Malik Hairston, 6'10 Jr Kevin Durant from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, 6'11 Jr Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, 6'7 Soph Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, 6'2 Jr Ramar Smith from Detroit (Martin Luther King) MI, 6'7 Jr DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI, 6'10 Jr Alex Stepheson from North Hollywood (Harvard-Westlake) CA, and 5'10 Soph Jai Lucas from Houston (Bellaire) TX.  And, if that's not impressive enough, Petrukonis also was named to the all-tournament, along with Lawson, Gay, Hairston, and Durant.  Like so many European players, Petrukonis does need to become more of a banger inside, but he's got great skills and, at 6'11, 260-pounds, already is physical specimen inside.  Petrukonis also should be an excellent complement to all of the other players - 6'5 David Potter from Bradenton (Pendleton School) FL, 6'7 Trevon Booker from Union (H.S.) AL, 6'8 A.J. Tyler from Palm Harbor (University) FL, and 6'9 Jr Laron Dendy from Greer (H.S.) SC - that Clemson has in the fold, because they all are somewhat under the radar screen and all have a major upsides.  We also have confirmed that Mt. St. Mary's has added another recruit in 6'4 Will Holland from Houston (Lamar) TX, who is ranked #93 in senior class in the state by Mike Kunstadt and played for Houston Elite this past spring and summer, and Bowling Green has landed 6'1 Ryan Sims from Ft. Wayne (Snider) IN and 6'9 Marc Larson from Mattawan (H.S.) MI.  Larson is ranked as the #4 power forward in the senior class in the state by Vince Baldwin in the latest issue of Michigan Prep Spotlight and Rick Bolus says Sims is "extremely quick and fast at both ends of the floor" and "can score either with the jumper or the drive to the basket" in his latest issue of the High Potential Basketball Recruiting Service. 

Saturday, October 1, 2005, Sunday, October 2, 2005, & Monday, October 3, 2005

Vince Baldwin, who is the editor and publisher of PrepSpotlight.com tells us that 6'7 Raymar Morgan from Canton (McKinley) OH has verbally committed to Michigan State and we think this is big for the Spartans for a number of reasons.  First, Morgan is an excellent player, as evident by the fact that he is ranked #3 in he state by our Ohio Editor Chris Johnson and #42 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP.  Second, Morgan is a big time athlete who can beat you both with his outside shooting and ability to explode to the basket.  Third, getting Morgan and 6'6 Isaiah Dahlman from Braham (H.S.) MN, who committed to the Spartans several weeks ago, may mark the beginning of trend, whereby, the Spartans don't rely as heavily on in-state players.  As, things stand now, nine of the 13 players - 6'11 Sr Paul Davis, 6'5 Sr Maurice Ager, 6'6 Jr Matt Trannon, 6'5 Sr Andy Harvey, 6'10 Jr Drew Naymick, 6'2 Jr Anthony Hamo, 6'0 Soph Drew Neitzel, 6'10 Frosh Goran Sutton, and 6'8 Frosh Marquise Gray - on this year's roster are from the state of Michigan.  However, the two players - 6'4 Maurice Joseph from Montreal (Champlain-St. Lambert) QU and 6'2 Travis Walton from Lima (Senior) OH - that they landed in last year's recruiting class, as well as their current two recruits are all out-of-state players.  And this is important when one remembers that the top two players - 6'2 Ramar Morgan from Detroit (Martin Luther King) M, who is already verbally committed to Connecticut, and 6'7 DeShawn Sims from Detroit (Pershing) MI, who is already verbally committed to Michigan, - in state's senior class are already heading elsewhere.  Fourth, getting the verbal commitment immediately following the visit could also be a prelude of things to come, as the Spartans had a number of other players, most notably 7'0 Tom Herzog from Flint (Powers) MI, 6'5 Jr Darquavis Tucker from Saginaw (Arthur Hill) MI, 6'4 Jr Durrell Summers from Detroit (St. Martin DePorres) MI, 6'1 Jr Kalin Lucas from Orchard Lake (St. Mary's) MI, 6'6 Jr Chris Wright from Trotwood (Madison) OH, on campus over the weekend during the Michigan-Michigan State football game.  Fifth, the addition of Morgan not only will give the Spartans one of he best duos in the league for years to come, but neither player is good enough right now, whereby, he has any business thinking about foregoing the rest of his college eligibility anytime soon.  Sixth, this also moves Michigan State's recruiting class into a tie at #23, along with Georgia Tech, Tennessee, and USC, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also have confirmed via Horace Neysmith, who runs the Georgia Hurricanes club team program and is a good friend of the HOOP SCOOP, that 6'4 Jodie Meeks from Norcross (H.S.) GA has verbally committed to the University of Kentucky.  And this comes right on the heels of the verbal commitment the Wildcats received last week from 6'4 Derrick Jasper from Paso Robles (H.S.) CA.  And we think Meeks, who is currently ranked #62 nationally in the senior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is the perfect complement to Jasper, because he's got a great mid-range game, is explosive in transition, knows how to play the game, and has a great upside.  Also very important is the fact that Meeks is now the high school teammate of 6'8 Jr Gani Lawal, who has transferred from Riverdale (H.S.) GA to Norcross (H.S.) GA.  If you will recall, Lawal, who is currently ranked #18 nationally in the junior class by the HOOP SCOOP, is one of the Wildcats' top future recruiting priorities, along with players like 6'5 Jr O.J. Mayo from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'6 Jr Billy Walker from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'10 Jr Keenan Ellis from Cincinnati (North College Hill) OH, 6'3 Jr Eric Gordon from Indianapolis (North Central) IN, 6'1 Soph Brandon Jennings from Compton (Dominguez) CA, 6'7 Jr Gary Johnson from Houston (Aldine) TX, and 6'1 Jr Corey Fisher from Elizabeth (St. Patrick) NJ.  The addition of Meeks moves Kentucky's recruiting class, which also includes Jasper and 6'4 Michael Porter from Modesto (Christian) CA, into a tie at #18, along with Arkansas, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, the Wildcats' gain is Alabama's loss.  Florida, Notre Dame, and Oklahoma State were also on his list, but Crimson Tide head coach Mark Gottfried and his staff had spent the last year-and-a-half recruiting Meeks, who obviously was one of their top priorities and, as a result, they now have to look elsewhere for an athletic wing guard who is good enough to step in and contribute immediately a year from now.  How about 6'2 Justin Tubbs from Birmingham (Hewitt Trussville) AL, who is one of the top five ranked seniors in the state and, up until now, was being recruited the heaviest by South Carolina and Vanderbilt?  We also have confirmed that 6'7 Wellington Smith from Blairstown (Blair Academy) NJ, who is ranked #54 nationally on our List of the Top 5th Year Players, which makes him the equivalent of player in the #100-300 range nationally, if he was still a high school senior, has verbally committed to West Virginia.  And, while Smith is listed as a power forward, he's really more a of slasher/athlete, which is exactly what the doctor ordered to go along with all of the good outside shooters that Mountaineers head coach John Beilein is sure to employ in his system.  One that slipped past us several weeks ago was 6'8 George Odufuwa from Dallas (Kimball) TX to Arizona State.  But we do like this commitment for the Sun Devils, because we're talking about a blue collar power forward who takes care of business around the basket.  Odufuwa also should provide an excellent complement a year from now to 6'10 Frosh Jeff Pendergraph, 6'8 Jr Bruno Claudino, and 6'9 Frosh Sylvester Seay, who will all grow up in a hurry this year, as they attempt to help replace 6'8 Ike Diogu.  One that we don't like is 5'9 Delano Howard from Snellville (South Gwinnett) GA to Georgia State.  We don't like his decision-making, ball handling and passing skills, and lack of size.  But then again, this might not be fair, because Howard was the odd man out on a team that featured 6'2 Louis Williams, 6'6 Michael Mercer, and 6'7 Avery Jukes a year ago.  In other words, there just may not have been enough basketball's to go around on a team that had an overabundance of talent, but terrible chemistry.  One that we do like is 6'10 Jerome Barney from Atlanta (Westlake) GA, who originally verbally committed to Miami-FL, but now is heading to the University of Maryland.  Sure, Barney needs to get bigger and stronger physically (a red-shirt year would help him immensely), but he's a long lanky athletic shot blocker with a tremendous upside.  The addition of Burney also gives the Terrapins a little bit of everything in this recruiting class, as 6'2 Eric Hayes from Dumfries (Potomac) VA who is like a coach on floor, knows how to run a team, and can beat you with his outside shooting, can play either the one or the two spot, and 6'7 Landon Milbourne, who has transferred from Alpharetta (St. Francis) GA to Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, is like capable of playing either forward spot, although he needs to get meaner and tougher if he wants to play inside in the Atlantic Coast Conference.  We also are waiting to see what happens tomorrow with 6'11 Spencer Hawes from Seattle (Prep) WA, who is expected to pick the University of Washington over North Carolina at his 3:00 PM press conference.  If Hawes picks the Huskies, then Washington's recruiting class, which already includes 6'7 Quincy Pondexter from Fresno (San Joaquin Memorial) CA, 6'6 Roburt Sallie from Patterson (The Patterson School) NC, and 6'3 Adrian Oliver from Modesto (Christian) CA, would move up to #5 on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, if Hawes picks the Tar Heels, that would move North Carolina's recruiting class, which also already includes 6'4 Wayne Ellington from Merion Station (Episcopal Academy) PA, 6'0 Tywon Lawson from Mouth of Wilson (Oak Hill) VA, and 6'6 William Graves from Greensboro (Dudley) NC, into a tie at #2, behind Ohio State, and ahead of Louisville, Connecticut, and Duke, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  We also aren't surprised by the fact that Kansas has landed 6'3 Brady Morningstar from New Hampton (Prep) NH.  If you will recall, Morningstar's father, Roger Morningstar, played on Kansas' 1974 NCAA Final Four Team and it's always been the younger Morningstar's dream to follow in his father's footsteps.  As a matter of fact, he turned down lower Division I scholarship offers last spring in order to go the prep school route and hopefully return to Lawrence, KS and become a Jayhawk.  We also are once again counting 6'11 Theo Davis from Philadelphia (Lutheran) PA as part of Iowa State's recruiting class, because he plans to get the core classes that he needs in prep school this fall and then enroll at Iowa State after the semester break this winter.  This addition moves Iowa State's recruiting class, which also includes 6'7 Corey Johnson from Duluth (East) MN and 6'3 P. Allen Stinnett from Las Vegas (Palos Verdes) NV, into a tie at #15, along with Florida State and Syracuse, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, before you etch this one into stone, don't forget about the fact that Davis, who has a history of doing the unexpected, originally verbally committed to Texas and only played in one high school game last season before returning home to Toronto, ON.  Our Georgia Editor Linzy Davis believes that 6'4 Solomon Tat from Stockbridge (Community Christian) GA may be on the verge of making a verbal commitment to the University of Virginia.  Apparently Tat made an official visit to the ACC school over the weekend and they knocked his stocks off enough that he's talking about making it official for the Cavaliers.  We also have confirmed that Mt. St. Mary's has landed 6'8 Tayvon Jackson from Indian Head (Lackey) MD.  Not only does this left-handed athletic shot blocking power forward/center have a big upside, but he's got a 4.0 gpa.  So obviously he should an excellent complement to 6'2 Jean Cajou from Fairfax (Paul VI) VA and 5'9 Jeremy Goode from Charlotte (Providence Day) NC in a recruiting class that is tied at #73, along with Akron, and Navy, on our list of the Top Recruiting Classes To-Date for the Class of 2006.  However, even more important, the addition of Jackson moves Mt. St. Mary's recruiting class up to #2 in the league, behind St. Francis- NY. The lists for 6'6 Peter Flowers from Oak Park (Fenwick) IL include Loyola-Illinois, Penn State, Dartmouth, Colgate, and Davidson and 6'3 Rodney Spruill from Baltimore (Walbrook) MD includes Kent State, La Salle, George Mason, Nebraska, Colgate, and the College of Charleston.